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RUSSIA  FROM  THE 
AMERICAN  EMBASSY 


Social  Sciences  &  Humanities  Library 

University  of  California,  San  Diego 
Please  Note:  This  item  is  subject  to  recall. 

Date  Due 


MAR  02  1Q9S 


FED  2  2 


Cl  39(2/95) 


UCSDLt). 


April,  1916  — November,  1918 


BY 

DAVID  R.  'FRANCIS 

United   States    Ambassador  t{>  Russia  under   the  Czar, 
the  Provisional  Government  and  the  Bolshevists 


ILLUSTRATED 


NEW  YORK 

CHARLES  SCRIBNER'S  SONS 
1921 


COPYWGHT,   1921,  BY 

CHARLES  SCRIBNER'S  SONS 

Published  August,  1921 
Reprinted  October,  1921 


WONTED  AT 

THE  SCRIBNER  PRESS 

NEW  YORK,  U.  S.  A. 


INTRODUCTION 

My  commission  as  Ambassador  to  Russia  was  dated 
March  9th,  1916.  As  I  was  so  long  in  regaining  my  health 
and  strength  after  leaving  Russia,  I  offered  to  resign  the 
Ambassadorship  three  or  more  times,  but  each  time  the 
Secretary  of  State  or  the  Acting  Secretary  dissuaded  me 
from  presenting  my  resignation.  I  have  drawn  no  salary 
as  Ambassador  since  the  26th  of  April,  1919,  but  since 
then  I  have  held  myself  subject  to  being  sent  back  to 
Russia  as  American  Ambassador  in  the  event  a  stable 
government  was  established  there.  At  no  time  was  there 
any  likelihood  of  our  recognizing  the  Bolshevik  Soviet 
Government.  My  resignation  as  Ambassador  to  Russia 
was  presented  on  the  3rd  of  March,  1921,  but  I  have  not 
had  advice  of  its  acceptance  up  to  the  present  writing. 
It  will  be  seen,  therefore,  that  my  services  have  covered 
five  years. 

During  this  period  I  was  credited  to  the  Monarchy  of 
Russia  thirteen  months.  I  represented  the  United  States 
with  the  Provisional  Government  of  Russia  for  eight 
months.  I  remained  in  Russia  from  the  inception  of 
Bolshevik  usurpation  and  until  within  five  days  of  the 
Armistice,  when  a  surgical  operation  necessitated  removal 
to  a  hospital  in  London.  Upon  leaving  the  hospital  I 
went  by  direction  of  the  Secretary  of  State  to  Paris, 
to  be  present  at  the  meeting  of  the  Peace  Conference  in 
February,  1919.  My  urgent  recommendation  that  I  be 
sent  back  to  Petrograd  was  under  consideration.  I  was 
continued  as  Ambassador  to  Russia  on  the  inactive  list 


vi  INTRODUCTION 

and  without  pay,  holding  myself  in  readiness  to  return 
if  there  should  be  at  any  time  a  favorable  decision  upon 
my  recommendation. 

Bolshevism  began  to  show  itself  eighteen  months  be- 
fore my  departure  from  Russia.  I  saw  its  spasmodic 
manifestations  through  the  summer  of  1917,  its  usurpa- 
tion of  power  in  the  autumn  of  that  year.  I  was  in  the 
midst  of  Lenin's  experiment  in  government  for  more 
than  a  year.  I  have  seen  this  monstrosity  run  its  course, 
to  become  the  world  wide  danger  which  my  observation 
at  close  hand  had  convinced  me  it  would  become.  I  have 
kept  in  close  touch  with  developments  in  Russia  up  to 
the  present  time,  reading  most  of  the  articles  written  by 
newspaper  men  and  magazine  authors  who  have  jour- 
neyed to  Russia,  having  obtained  the  consent  of  the 
Soviet  Government  previous  to  entering  that  country. 

On  the  25th  of  February,  1917,  I  sent  this  cablegram 
from  Petrograd  : 

''Secretary  of  State, 
"Washington. 

*  *  Strictly  confidential  for  President.  Understand  Cus- 
tomary to  tender  resignation  on  beginning  of  new  term. 
Mine  is  herewith  presented.  Thoroughly  reconciled  to 
return  or  entirely  willing  to  remain  or  to  serve  in  any 
position  where  you  think  can  be  most  effective.  Personal 
interest  and  inclination  subordinated  to  country's  welfare 
in  this  critical  juncture. 


I  received  no  reply  to  the  tender  of  my  resignation,  but 
I  thought  nothing  strange  of  this,  as  the  diplomatic  regu- 
lations state  an  ambassador  or  a  minister  does  not  have 
to  resign;  he  should  take  the  sending  of  his  successor's 
name  to  the  Senate  for  confirmation  as  a  removal  or 
recall. 


INTRODUCTION  vii 

While  at  Vologda,  I  received  from  the  Secretary  of 
State,  under  date  of  May  24th,  1918,  this  cable: 

"The  following  is  for  your  information:  Governor 
Gardner  of  Missouri  has  stated  that  on  account  of  the 
recent  death  of  Senator  Stone,  he  desired  to  appoint  you 
to  vacancy  in  the  Senate.  In  reply  the  Department  has 
stated  that  your  services  are  regarded  as  essential  to  the 
Government's  relations  with  Russia,  and  that  you  could 
not  be  dispensed  with  at  this  time. 

' '  The  above  statement  was  made  by  the  Department  in 
full  confidence  of  your  desire  to  serve  where  you  are  most 

needed. 

"  LANSING." 

This  was  exceedingly  gratifying  to  me,  not  only  be- 
cause of  the  compliment  Governor  Gardner  paid  me,  but  I 
considered  it  an  answer  to  my  tendered  resignation. 

Before  leaving  Petrograd  for  Vologda,  I  received  two 
cablegrams  from  the  Department  of  State.  The  first  one 
authorized  me  to  leave  Petrograd  when  I  considered  it 
unsafe.  The  second  authorized  my  departure  "when- 
ever your  judgment  so  dictates." 

On  my  return  to  Washington  a  year  later,  I  asked  the 
Department  of  State  where  they  expected  me  to  go 
when  they  authorized  me  to  leave  Petrograd.  The  reply 
was,  I  was  expected  to  go  to  London  and  await  orders, 
or  to  return  to  Washington.  My  colleagues  all  endeav- 
ored to  return  to  their  own  countries,  but  I  cabled  my 
Government  that  I  did  not  think  it  wise  to  leave  Russia, 
and  would  not  do  so  unless  ordered,  and  I  went  to 
Vologda. 

After  being  in  Vologda  four  or  five  days,  the  Depart- 
ment cabled  me  I  should  remain  there  until  I  considered 
it  unsafe,  when  I  could  select  my  own  location  in  Russia, 
if  I  thought  any  place  was  safe. 


viii  INTRODUCTION 

While  in  Archangel,  after  the  Department  had  been 
advised  of  my  condition,  Secretary  of  State,  cabled  me 
under  date  of  October  llth,  1918: 

"The  Department  regards  your  devotion  to  duty  as 
an  example  of  the  highest  traditions  of  the  Service.  In 
order  to  be  able  to  continue  your  valued  service,  I  believe 
you  should  proceed  at  once  to  London  for  consultation 
as  to  whether  surgical  assistance  can  be  rendered  there. 
Please  take  all  precautions  in  your  journey.  I  am  asking 
the  Secretary  of  War  for  special  assistance  from  the 
medical  officers  with  Colonel  Stewart.  Advise  me  of  your 
departure  and  your  arrival  in  London.  You  will  leave 
Poole  in  charge.  Please  accept  my  cordial  good  wishes 
for  your  speedy  restoration  to  active  work. 

"  LANSING." 

On  the  18th  of  November,  1918,  Secretary  of  State 
Lansing  cabled  me  through  the  American  Embassy  at 
London : 

"As  you  were  advised  October  12th,  Department  plans 
for  you  to  return  to  Archangel  unless  situation  changes, 
but  no  definite  decision  will  be  reached  until  your  health 
is  restored." 

From  the  time  of  my  arrival  in  Russia,  I  followed  the 
practice  of  committing  fully  to  paper  the  incidents,  the 
interviews,  the  impressions,  in  short  whatever  interested 
me  about  Russia,  whether  official  or  unofficial.  I  endeav- 
ored to  present  to  the  Department  of  State  not  always  in 
formal  but  rather  in  intimate  and  confidential  detail  the 
quickly  shifting  changes  that  were  taking  place  in  Russia. 
These  reports  are  drawn  upon  extensively  in  the  chapters 
which  follow. 

In  my  personal  letters  to  my  family,  to  friends,  to  busi- 
ness associates,  I  wrote  of  Russia  and  of  Russians,  as  I 


INTRODUCTION  ix 

might  have  done  in  the  freedom  of  a  diary.  Liberal  ex- 
tracts from  these  'letters  have  been  introduced.  From 
time  to  time  my  opinions  of  Russian  leadership  and  of 
general  conditions  were  revised,  my  hopes  of  govern- 
mental reform  and  stability  shattered,  my  predictions 
were  not  realized.  The  readers  of  this  narrative  will 
discover  that.  I  thought  it  best  to  carry  them  through 
these  different  times  and  perilous  changes  in  the  hope 
that  they  would  reach  the  same  conclusions  that  I  did, 
and  which  conclusions  have  not  been  changed  up  to  the 
present  time.  Those  conclusions  are  that  Bolshevism,  if 
it  dominates  the  world,  will  lead  us  back  to  barbarism. 

All  the  enciphered  cables  are  set  forth  in  paraphrases 
thereof. 

I  cheerfully  acknowledge  my  obligation,  for  their 
valued  and  helpful  assistance,  to  Mr.  Lyman  Beecher 
Stowe  and  Mr.  Walter  B.  Stevens. 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER 

I    FIRST  IMPRESSIONS 3 

II    GERMAN  INFLUENCE  IN  RUSSIAN  AFFAIRS       .     .  19 

III  TREASON  IN  HIGH  PLACES 31 

IV  RUMBLINGS  OF  REVOLUTIONS 52 

V    THE  MARCH  REVOLUTIONS 59 

VI    AMERICAN    RECOGNITION    OF    THE    PROVISIONAL 

GOVERNMENT 82 

VII    THE    COUNCIL    OF    WORKMEN    AND    SOLDIERS' 

DEPUTIES 96 

VIII    SIGNIFICANT  CHANGES  IN  THE  MINISTRY    .     .     .  115 

IX    THE  DIPLOMATIC  AND  RAILWAY  COMMISSION    .     .  128 

X    THE  JULY  REVOLUTION 134 

XI    THE  PROVISIONAL  GOVERNMENT  AND  THE  FORCES 

OF  DESTRUCTION 143 

XII    THE  BREAK  BETWEEN  KERENSKY  AND  KORNILOFF  153 

XIII  THE  BOLSHEVIKS  OVERTHROW  THE  GOVERNMENT   .  171 

XIV  THE  CONSTITUENT  ASSEMBLY  DISPERSED  BY  ARMED 

BOLSHEVIKS 196 

XV    THE  DIAMANDI  INCIDENT 216 

XVI    THE  BREST-LITOVSK  PEACE 223 

XVII    VOLOGDA — THE  DIPLOMATIC  CAPITAL    ....  234 

XVIII    ARCHANGEL  AND  THE  NORTHERN  GOVERNMENT    .  261 

xi 


xii  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER 

XIX  ALLIED  POLICIES  IN  RUSSIA 297 

XX  BOLSHEVISM  AND  THE  PEACE  CONFERENCE     .     .  306 

XXI  BOLSHEVISM  IN  PRINCIPLE  AND  IN  PRACTICE    .     .  328 

XXII  RUSSIA — THE  CHIEF  VICTIM  OF  THE  WORLD  WAR  341 

XXIII  RETROSPECT  345 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


David  R.  Francis ,  Frontispiece 


FACING 
PAGE 


The  American  Embassy,  Petrograd,  1909-1917 22 

Terestchenko 86 

Paul  Miliukoff 86 

Michael  Rodzianko ;  86 

The  American  Railway  Commission  to  Russia  and  Ambassador 

Francis  at  the  American  Embassy,  Petrograd  .     .     .     .     .     .  132 

Alexander  Kerensky         144 

N.  Prebensen 218 

Sir  George  W.  Buchanan 218 

Count  Diamandi 218 

T.  Noulens 218 

Ambassador  Francis  and  His  Staff  Before  the  American  Embassy, 

Vologda,  Russia 238 

Last  Conference  of  the  Allied  Chiefs  in  the  American  Embassy, 

Vologda,  July  23,  1918 258 


RUSSIA  FROM  THE 
AMERICAN  EMBASSY 


RUSSIA  FROM  THE 
AMERICAN  EMBASSY 


CHAPTER  I 
FIRST  IMPRESSIONS 

AT  two  o'clock  in  the  morning  on  the  28th  of  April, 
1916,  with  the  grinding  of  brakes  and  the  pushing  of 
people  toward  the  doors,  the  Stockholm  Express  came 
to  a  stop  in  the  Finland  Station  of  Petrograd,  and  I 
realized  that  my  duties  as  Ambassador  from  the  greatest 
Republic  of  the  New  World  to  the  Court  of  the  mightiest 
Autocracy  of  the  Old  had  virtually  begun.  It  was  dark 
and  cold.  I  was  alone  except  for  my  loyal  colored  valet, 
Philip  Jordan.  I  had  never  been  in  Russia  before.  I 
had  never  been  an  Ambassador  before.  My  knowledge 
of  Russia  up  to  the  time  of  my  appointment  had  been 
that  of  the  average  intelligent  American  citizen — unhap- 
pily slight  and  vague.  In  order  to  meet  without  quailing 
the  heavy  responsibilities  and  the  unknown  problems 
which  lay  before  me  I  needed  all  the  self-confidence  born 
of  my  experience  as  Mayor  of  my  City,  Governor  of  my 
State,  Member  of  the  President's  Cabinet,  and  as  head 
for  many  years  of  my  own  business. 

Any  momentary  misgivings  I  may  have  felt,  however, 
were  soon  dispelled  by  my  cordial  American  greeting 
from  the  members  of  the  Embassy  staff  who  had  loyally 
stood  by  to  welcome  me  since  11  p.m.,  the  hour  at  which 
the  train  had  been  due. 

3 


4        RUSSIA  FROM  THE  AMERICAN  EMBASSY 

As  I  began  to  familiarize  myself  with  my  duties  I  was 
appalled  at  the  enormous  amount  of  work,  and  responsi- 
bility entailed  by  my  uncongenial  task  as  the  represen- 
tative of  German  and  Austrian  interests  in  Russia.  There 
were  at  the  time  one  and  a  quarter  million  Austrian 
prisoners  and  a  quarter  of  a  million  German  prisoners 
in  Russian  prison  camps.  In  addition  there  were  about 
200,000  interned  German  civilians  and  50,000  Austrians. 
I  had  to  supervise  the  care  and  attention  received  by 
these  hundreds  of  thousands  of  persons  and  act  as  the 
official  intermediary  between  them  and  their  govern- 
ments. This  work  was  conducted  from  the  Austrian 
Embassy  which  we  had  taken  over  at  the  time  we  as- 
sumed charge  of  Austrian  interests.  It  required  not 
only  the  exclusive  services  of  a  large  corps  of  able  assist- 
ants, known  as  the  Relief  Corps,  but  demanded  my  per- 
sonal attention  for  several  hours  daily. 

Among  the  first  places  that  I  visited  was  the  German 
Embassy  which  was  also,  and  for  the  same  reason,  under 
my  charge.  This  capacious  and  imposing  structure  had 
been  sacked  by  the  Petrograd  populace  in  1914  in  retali- 
ation for  indignities  which  had  been  shown  the  Russian 
Empress  Dowager  when  she  passed  through  Berlin  on 
her  return  from  Switzerland  to  Russia  after  Germany's 
declaration  of  war  against  Russia,  The  angry  crowd 
had  done  its  work  thoroughly.  On  inspecting  this  large 
building  I  found  the  luxurious  furnishings  mutilated  and 
useless,  the  great  mirrors  broken,  the  electric  light  fix- 
tures twisted  out  of  shape,  and  even  the  oil  paintings  of 
the  German  Emperors,  Chancellors  and  Ministers  of 
Foreign  Affairs,  disfigured  beyond  repair. 

This  huge,  costly  and  partially  demolished  Embassy 
seemed  to  me  to  well  symbolize  the  relations  between 
Germany  and  Russia.  This  Embassy  had  been  a  part 
of  Germany's  long  and  persistent  campaign  to  gain  a 


dominating  influence  in  Eussia.  At  a  pre-arranged  meet- 
ing in  Baltic  waters  on  July  24th,  1905,  Kaiser  "Wilhelm 
had  induced  his  weak  and  easily  influenced  cousin,  Nich- 
olas, to  sign  the  secret  Treaty  of  Bjorke.  This  Treaty, 
whose  provisions  became  known  several  years  later, 
bound  the  two  natipns  mutually  to  assist  each  other 
against  any  third  party  and  prohibited  the  conclusion 
of  a  separate  peace  with  a  common  adversary.  This 
agreement,  signed  during  the  Russo-Japanese  War,  was 
to  become  effective  at  the  restoration  of  peace  between 
Eussia  and  Japan.  It  also  provided  that  France  was 
not  to  be  informed  of  the  Treaty  until  after  it  came  into 
effect,  when  she  should  be  invited  to  become  a  party  to 
it.  Obviously  this  Treaty  would  have  been  a  breach  of 
faith  on  Eussia 's  part  with  her  ally,  France,  and  could 
only  have  resulted  in  severing  the  close  relations  between 
those  countries  and  thus  strengthening  Germany  at  the 
expense  of  both  which  was,  of  course,  the  Kaiser's  object. 
Thanks  to  Count  Witte  this  mischievous  Treaty  never 
went  into  effect.  He  was  at  the  time  Minister  of  Finance 
and  the  dominating  personality  in  the  Government.  He 
succeeded  in  over-ruling  the  Czar  himself,  and  check- 
mating this  intrigue  of  the  German  Emperor.  By  so 
doing,  however,  he  incurred  the  displeasure  of  the  Czar 
and  the  active  hostility  of  the  Czarina. 

I  had  heard  before  leaving  America  that  the  Eussian 
Court  circles  were  honeycombed  with  German  spies  and 
German  sympathizers.  As  a  result  I  was  on  the  look- 
out for  the  activities  of  such  persons.  I  also  knew  that 
important  Eussian  industries,  mines  and  financial  insti- 
tutions were  controlled  by  German  capital.  Immediately 
before  the  outbreak  of  the  war  49  %  of  Eussia 's  foreign 
commerce  was  with  Germany.  In  the  same  year  Ger- 
many had  taken  advantage  of  Eussia 's  weakened  condi- 
tion because  of  her  disastrous  war  with  Japan  to  force 


6       RUSSIA  FROM  THE  AMERICAN  EMBASSY 

upon  her  a  commercial  treaty  in  which  all  the  advantages 
were  on  the  side  of  Germany,  and  which  was  effective 
for  ten  years,  or  until  the  year  1915.  The  bitterness 
against  Germany  was  greatly  increased  by  the  effects 
of  this  treaty.  In  fact,  by  the  year  1914  the  Russian 
industries  that  were  not  under  German  control  were 
comparatively  few.  Germany  well  knew  that  public  senti- 
ment in  Russia  would  never  tolerate  the  renewal  of  this 
unfair  treaty  and  that  knowledge  was  one  of  the  imme- 
diate causes  which  induced  Germany  to  force  Russia  into 
war  in  1914. 

The  bitterest  enmity  had  grown  up  since  the  outbreak 
of  the  war,  twenty-two  months  before,  between  the  Rus- 
sian nobility  who  were  purely  Russian  and  those  who 
were  accused  of  German  sympathies.  The  latter  became 
known  as  the  Court  Party  and  were  headed  by  the  Em- 
press, who  before  her  marriage  had  been  a  German 
Princess  from  Hesse-Darmstadt,  and  a  cousin  of  the 
German  Emperor.  The  Empress  was  said  to  have  gained 
such  a  strong  influence  over  the  Emperor  that  even  his 
mother,  the  Empress  Dowager,  to  whom  he  had  always 
been  so  devoted,  could  not  counteract  it.  In  fact,  it  was 
believed  that  at  the  behest  of  his  wife  the  Emperor  had 
required  his  mother  to  leave  Petrograd.  In  any  case, 
she  had  left  and  was  living  in  Kieff.  In  addition  there 
were  many  charges  of  the  direct  use  of  German  and 
Austrian  money  in  high  places.  The  former  Minister  of 
War,  Sukhomlinoff,  had  been  charged  by  Grand  Duke 
Nicholas  with  intentionally  aiding  the  enemy  by  delib- 
erately failing  to  provide  the  troops  with  arms  and  am- 
munition. He  had  been  arrested  and  imprisoned  in  the 
St.  Peter  and  Paul  Fortress.  His  wife,  a  beautiful  and 
attractive  woman,  had  accepted  attentions  from  a  Rus- 
sian General,  who  had  been  charged  with  taking  a  bribe  of 
400,000  roubles  from  the  enemy  in  return  for  informa- 


FIRST  IMPRESSIONS  7 

tion  concerning  Russian  troop  movements  and  the  Rus- 
sian lack  of  ammunition.  This  General  had  been  tried, 
convicted  and  shot.  There  was  at  this  time  a  Russian 
Commission  in  America  for  the  purchase  of  arms  and 
munitions.  It  was  commonly  believed  that  a  member 
of  this  Commission  had  been  bribed  to  give  wrong  speci- 
fications for  ammunition,  and  that  when  tried  in  actual 
battle  it  was  found  this  ammunition  could  not  be  used. 
These  exposures  had  naturally  made  the  Russian  people 
extremely  anxious  and  suspicious.  The  Secret  Service 
of  the  Empire  also  had  corrupted  several  of  the  revolu- 
tionary leaders,  among  whom  were  Azef  and  Father 
Gapon,  the  leader  of  the  Black  Friday  demonstration 
of  1905.  Some  of  these  leaders  had  been  induced  to 
make  attempts  upon  the  lives  of  members  of  the  royal 
family  and  in  some  instances  had  actually  committed 
murders  with  the  knowledge  of  the  Secret  Service.  The 
Secret  Service  was  willing  to  offer  up  these  royal  per- 
sonages as  sacrifices  in  order  to  obtain  justification  for 
suppressing  the  revolutionary  spirit  with  an  iron  hand. 
I  shall  tell  my  story  from  here  on  largely  by  means  of 
extracts  from  confidential  letters  and  dispatches  which 
I  sent  and  received  between  April  28th,  1916,  and  No- 
vember 6th,  1918 — the  dates  marking  my  active  services 
as  Ambassador.  Since  leaving  Russia,  while  still  hold- 
ing the  office,  I  have  been  on  the  inactive  list.  Although 
these  dispatches  and  letters,  so  far  from  being  written 
with  a  view  to  publication,  were  prepared  in  most  cases 
for  the  confidential  information  of  those  to  whom  they 
were  addressed,  I  shall  use  them  for  two  reasons :  first, 
because  I  wish  my  readers  to  know  that  there  are  no 
inaccuracies  owing  to  lapses  of  memory  on  my  part,  and 
second,  because  it  seems  to  me  that  many  of  these  ac- 
counts have  an  added  interest  by  reason  of  the  fact  that 


8       EUSSIA  FROM  THE  AMERICAN  EMBASSY 

they  were  written  immediately  after  the  stirring  events 
described. 

In  a  letter  to  my  son,  Perry  Francis,  written  May  1st, 
1916,  three  days  after  my  arrival  in  Petrograd,  I  said: 

"On  the  day  of  my  arrival  a  note  was  sent  to  the 
Foreign  Office  asking  when  I  would  be  received,  and 
on  the  following  day,  Saturday,  had  an  audience  with 
Sazonoff,  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs,  and  also  with 
Stunner,  President  of  the  Council  of  Ministers,  and  also 
Minister  of  the  Interior.  My  interview  with  Sazonoff 
was  prolonged  through  an  hour  and  twenty  minutes  and 
was  by  no  means  satisfactory.  He  was  exceedingly  cor- 
dial, but  I  was  disappointed  in  that  he  said  that  Russia 
was  not  prepared  at  this  time  to  negotiate  any  commer- 
cial treaty  with  our  country  or  any  other  country  until 
all  of  the  Allies  arrived  at  some  understanding  on  eco- 
nomic questions.  I  told  him  my  last  advices  were  to  the 
effect  that  he  was  willing  and  desirous  of  negotiating  a 
new  commercial  treaty,  to  which  he  replied  that  he  had 
so  stated  six  months  ago,  but  that  not  since  June  or 
July  of  1915  had  the  subject  been  broached  to  him,  and 
now  it  was  too  late  as  the  Allies  have  agreed  upon  a 
program  which  provides  for  an  understanding  between 
themselves  not  only  as  to  the  prosecution  of  the  war, 
but  as  to  the  commercial  relations  between  themselves 
and  friendly,  neutral  and  belligerent  countries  after  the 
close  of  the  war.  Of  course,  this  is  strictly  confidential 
and  should  not  be  given  to  the  public  prints,  nor  told 
to  anyone  except  those  upon  whom  you  can  thoroughly 
rely.  Immediately  upon  returning  to  the  Embassy,  I 
prepared  a  cablegram  to  the  State  Department  of  500 
words,  informing  the  Secretary  of  the  situation  and 
expressing  my  great  disappointment.  I  told  Sazonoff, 
who  speaks  very  good  English,  that  I  was  greatly  dis- 
appointed, and  in  fact  decidedly  so,  because  to  negotiate 


FIRST  IMPRESSIONS  9 

such  a  treaty  had  been  the  main  object  I  had  had  in  view 
when  accepting  the  appointment  as  Ambassador.  The 
Allies  have  called  an  economic  council  to  meet  in  Paris 
about  June  first,  at  which  this  country  will  be  repre- 
sented by  the  Comptroller  of  the  Empire  and  four  other 
potential  officials.  It  seems,  therefore,  that  the  negotia- 
tion of  a  commercial  treaty  must  be  postponed  until  after 
the  council  is  held ;  it  will  continue  in  session  about  thirty 
days.  There  is  no  hope,  therefore,  of  negotiating  a 
tieaty  between  our  country  and  Russia  before  July." 
When  First  Secretary  Bearing  made  the  appointment 
for  my  initial  interview  with  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs 
Sazonoff  there  was  no  thought  of  my  also  calling  upon 
Baron  Sturmer,  who  was  at  the  time  both  President  of 
the  Council  of  Ministers  and  Minister  of  the  Interior, 
but  a  message  was  received  at  the  Embassy  the  morning 
of  the  day  I  was  to  meet  the  Foreign  Minister  requesting 
that  I  call  upon  Minister  Sturmer  before  going  to  the 
Foreign  Office.  I  soon  learned  that  there  was  friction 
between  the  two  Ministers  which  undoubtedly  accounted 
for  this  unusual  request.  I  naturally  called  upon  Sturmer 
as  requested.  Although  he  was  exceedingly  cordial  and 
expressed  himself  as  very  anxious  to  establish  closer 
relations  with  my  Government,  I  was  by  no  means  favor- 
ably impressed  by  him.  His  appearance  was  as  German 
as  his  name.  His  mind  worked  slowly  and  his  tempera- 
ment was  phlegmatic.  In  short,  he  impressed  me  as  a 
dull  man.  Shortly  after  my  presentation  to  the  Emperor, 
he  called  on  me  at  the  Embassy.  He  was  again  extreme- 
ly cordial  and  emphatic  in  his  protestations  of  a  desire 
for  close  relations  with  the  United  States  Government, 
but  I  liked  him  no  better.  As  Minister  of  the  Interior 
he  had  charge  of  the  prison  camps  which  it  was  the  duty 
of  the  Relief  Corps  of  the  American  Embassy  to  inspect. 
The  entire  Corps  cordially  disliked  him  and  when  in 


10     RUSSIA  FEOM  THE  AMERICAN  EMBASSY 

July,  1916,  he  was  transferred — through  the  influence 
of  the  Empress  and  Rasputin  as  I  later  learned — and 
made  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs,  great  was  the  rejoic- 
ing among  the  members  of  the  American  Relief  Corps. 
Shortly  after  his  appointment  as  Minister  of  Foreign 
Affairs  he  moved  into  a  palatial  summer  residence  on 
the  island  in  the  River  Neva  opposite  the  "Winter  Palace. 
Here  I  called  one  afternoon  and  met  the  Baroness 
Stunner.  During  my  conversation  with  her  I  could  not 
help  noticing  how  the  Baron  paced  up  and  down  the 
room  and  every  now  and  again  stopped  in  front  of  a 
long  mirror  in  which  he  surveyed  himself  with  evident 
satisfaction,  while  he  turned  up  the  ends  of  his  mustaches 
which  were  in  the  style  of  the  German  Kaiser. 

After  my  original  brief  conversation  with  Baron 
Stunner  I  went  to  the  Foreign  Office  for  my  appointment 
with  Minister  Sazonoff.  He  greeted  me  cordially  al- 
though he  was  not  as  excessively  cordial  as  had  been 
Stunner.  He  looked  about  55  years  old,  is  slightly  under 
medium  height  and  of  a  spare  build.  His  nose  is  rather 
prominent,  his  mouth  firm  set  and  his  chin  neither  square 
nor  pointed.  His  face  and  manner  bore  evidence  of  over- 
work and  mental  strain.  His  mind  was  evidently  as 
alert  as  Stunner's  lethargic.  His  replies  to  my  questions 
were  prompt  to  the  point  of  abruptness.  When  I  told 
him  I  had  no  experience  in  diplomacy  but  had  accepted 
the  appointment  in  the  hope  and  expectation  of  negotiat- 
ing a  commercial  treaty  between  Russia  and  the  United 
States  he  arose  abruptly  from  his  chair  and  made  the 
statement  given  in  the  letter  above.  I  could  well  imagine 
him  entering  the  great  Hall  of  Tsarskoe  Selo  Palace 
on  the  fateful  night  of  July  31st,  1914,  with  his  quick 
firm  step  to  tell  the  Emperor  that  Germany  had  declared 
war.  The  royal  family  and  some  prominent  members 
of  the  nobility  were  attending  an  entertainment  at  the 


FIRST  IMPRESSIONS  11 

Palace  when  the  Foreign  Minister  entered,  and  went 
direct  to  his  Majesty,  took  him  to  one  side,  told  him  the 
ominous  news  and  then  left  the  hall  with  him  while  the 
entertainment  continued  and  the  guests  were  left  to 
speculate  on  what  had  happened. 

Within  ten  days  of  my  arrival  in  Petrograd  I  deter- 
mined to  make  the  acquaintance  of  the  American  colony, 
so  I  invited  the  Americans  to  tea  at  the  Embassy  on  a 
Sunday  afternoon.  The  invitations  were  generally  ac- 
cepted and  the  guests  remarked  that  they  had  not  real- 
ized there  were  so  many  Americans  in  Petrograd.  They 
seemed  greatly  pleased  and  were,  in  fact,  profuse  in 
their  expressions  of  appreciation.  Although  the  colony 
is  so  small  it  has  been  split  into  factions — a  condition 
that  seems  to  have  been  brought  about  by  rivalry  be- 
tween some  of  the  American  women  in  regard  to  what 
is  called  the  American  Refuge  (an  orphan  asylum  sup- 
ported by  Americans). 

But  the  war  was  the  all-absorbing  subject  in  Russia 
at  this  time.  Everyone  in  any  position  of  responsibility 
was  under  the  highest  tension.  Recruits  were  being 
drilled  on  the  street  in  front  of  the  Embassy.  This  street 
is  nearly  200  feet  wide  and  paved  with  cobblestones  which 
are  not  pleasant  to  walk  upon,  but  the  soldiers  didn't 
seem  to  mind  them.  These  soldiers  often  sang  familiar 
Russian  airs.  They  are  plaintive  but  enchanting — so 
much  so  that  one  found  the  airs  running  through  one's 
mind  long  after  the  songs  had  ceased.  Soldiers  were 
being  sent  out  of  the  city  by  train  loads,  thousands  daily, 
but  no  one  knew  where  they  were  going  except  the  gen- 
eral in  supreme  command. 

The  hatred  of  Germany  was  intense,  just  as  the  feeling 
in  Germany  toward  England  was  exceedingly  bitter. 
The  merchants  and  all  of  the  people  seemed  to  feel  that 
Germany  had  for  a  century  or  more  been  growing  rich 


12      RUSSIA  FEOM  THE  AMERICAN  EMBASSY 

at  the  expense  of  Russia,  and  that  during  the  Russian- 
Japanese  War  Germany  took  advantage  of  conditions  to 
force  upon  Russia  a  burdensome  treaty  whereby  Ger- 
many not  only  got  advantage  over  other  countries,  but 
was  enabled  to  exact  tribute  from  all  of  her  patrons  in 
Russia.  The  Russian  merchants,  and  in  fact  the  nobility 
and  even  the  Emperor  himself,  seemed  determined  that 
no  other  country  should  ever  occupy  the  same  relation 
to  Russia  that  Germany  did  before  the  war.  Such  a  posi- 
tion pleased  me  to  a  degree,  as  I  had  been  fearful  on 
account  of  the  financial  aid  she  was  rendering  to  Russia 
that  England  might  be  planning  to  assume  a  position  of 
superiority  over  other  nations  in  her  relations  to  Russia. 
I  was  not  fully  qualified  as  Ambassador  until  I  had 
been  received  by  the  Czar.  This  was  both  an  impressive 
and  pleasant  experience,  which  I  described  to  Mr.  Polk 
in  the  following  letter : 

"  American  Embassy, 
"Petrograd. 
«  May  9th,  1916. 
1 '  Dear  Mr.  Secretary : 

"I  address  you  mainly  for  the  purpose  of  making  a 
report  about  my  reception  by  the  Emperor  and  Empress 
on  Friday,  May  5th,  advices  of  which  I  have  cabled  the 
Department. 

"The  day  before  calling  on  the  Emperor  and  Empress, 
accompanied  by  First  Secretary  Dearing,  I  called  upon 
Baron  Korff,  Grand  Master  of  Ceremonies,  and  also 
upon  Dame  d'honneur  Elizabeth  Narychkine,  Maitresse 
de  la  Cour  Imperiale ;  both  of  these  calls  were  very  agree- 
able, both  officials  responding  promptly  and  cheerfully 
to  my  expressed  desire  of  increasing  the  good  feeling 
existing  for  so  many  years  between  Russia  and  the 
United  States. 


FIRST  IMPRESSIONS  13 

"The  following  day,  Friday,  accompanied  by  the  Em- 
bassy staff  and  the  Commercial  Attache,  I  went  to  a 
special  station  on  the  railroad  leading  to  Tsarskoe-Selo 
where  a  special  train  was  waiting,  which  conveyed  us 
to  the  Emperor's  station,  near  the  castle,  after  a  journey 
of  about  25  minutes.  There  we  were  met  by  the  Master 
of  Ceremonies  and  his  staff  all  arrayed  in  gorgeous  uni- 
forms. It  has  been  the  custom  of  my  predecessors,  I 
am  told,  to  wear  uniforms  on  such  occasions  as  this  and 
on  many  other  occasions,  but  I  have  not  yet  procured 
a  uniform  and  don't  know  that  I  shall;  my  impression 
is  that  some  of  the  Secretaries  have  them,  but  they  are 
not  permitted  to  wear  them  unless  the  Ambassador  is 
so  attired.  We  journeyed  from  the  station  to  the  palace 
in  vehicles  so  rich  in  gilt  finish  that  they  had  better  be 
termed  chariots.  The  one  in  which  I  was,  was  drawn 
by  six  horses  with  an  outrider  on  the  front  lead  horse. 
The  only  one  who  accompanied  me  in  this  carriage  was 
a  uniformed  and  titled  attache  of  the  Master  of  Cere- 
monies, whose  name  I  do  not  recall.  In  the  second  ve- 
hicle were  Bearing  and  Mr.  Peirce;  in  the  third  were 
Second  Secretaries  White  and  Sterling;  in  the  fourth 
were  Third  Secretary  Ryan  and  Commercial  Attache 
Baker;  in  the  fifth  Lieutenant  Riggs  and  Captain  Mc- 
Cully;  in  the  sixth  was  Captain  Breckinridge  of  the 
Marine  Corps, — ten  in  all  including  myself.  In  each 
vehicle  was  a  member  of  the  retinue  of  Baron  Korff. 

"The  drive  to  the  castle  was  about  half  a  mile;  on 
arrival  the  doors  were  opened  and  there  were  more  uni- 
formed servants  ready  to  receive  us  than  I  could  count. 
After  a  very  short  delay  I  was  conducted  to  a  room  where 
I  found  the  Emperor  awaiting  me.  The  doors  were 
closed  behind  me;  the  Emperor  advanced  and  gave  me 
a  cordial  handshake  and  accompanied  me  to  a  seat.  The 
staff  were  all  outside  awaiting  my  return,  and  although 


14     RUSSIA  FROM  THE  AMERICAN  EMBASSY 

the  conference  lasted  but  about  35  minutes  by  the  watch, 
as  they  were  kept  standing  during  this  time,  it  must  have 
seemed  like  hours  to  them. 

"After  expressing  to  the  Emperor  my  appreciation 
of  the  honor  conferred  by  his  receiving  me,  I  handed 
him  the  sealed  missive  from  the  President  and  almost 
immediately  proceeded  to  tell  him  that  I  had  come  to 
Russia  mainly  for  the  purpose  of  negotiating  a  new  com- 
mercial treaty.  He  smiled  and  said  that  Russia  was 
equally  desirous  to  have  a  new  treaty,  and  trusted  there 
would  be  no  difficulty  in  negotiating  one.  (As  I  later 
learned  this  was  a  very  characteristic  attitude.  This 
unfortunate  monarch  was  always  trying  to  avoid  diffi- 
culties.) At  some  stage  of  the  conversation  I  congratu- 
lated him  upon  his  vodka  edict,  at  which  he  seemed 
pleased,  saying  that  when  it  was  first  issued  the  period 
for  its  operation  was  limited  to  30  days,  or  during  mobi- 
lization. The  appeals  from  women,  communities,  and 
associations,  however,  were  so  numerous  and  importu- 
nate that  it  be  extended  for  the  duration  of  the  war, 
which  at  that  time  doubtless  no  one  thought  would  last 
more  than  a  few  months,  that  he  prolonged  the  operation 
of  the  edict  to  make  it  contemporaneous  with  the  war; 
as  the  war  progressed  and  the  benefits  of  the  prohibition 
of  the  sale  of  vodka  became  more  and  more  apparent, 
he  issued  formal  edict  making  the  prohibition  perpetual. 

"He  asked  me  with  great  interest  about  the  relations 
between  our  country  and  Germany  and  I  told  him  that 
the  first  official  information  received  at  the  Embassy 
was  in  regard  to  treatment  of  merchant  vessels  by  the 
Allied  and  Belligerent  Powers,  but  that  the  newspapers 
contained  reports  to  the  effect  that  Germany's  reply  to 
the  President's  note  suggested  arbitration  and  that  they 
further  stated  that  the  proposition  had  not  been  accepted. 
I  also  told  him  that  our  official  advices  from  Washington 


FIEST  IMPRESSIONS  15 

which  had  been  transmitted  to  the  Foreign  Office  were 
not  only  a  virtual  reply  to  Germany's  proposition  to 
arbitrate,  but  an  announcement  to  the  world  of  the  posi- 
tion assumed  by  the  United  States  on  the  question  so 
long  discussed — a  position  our  country  meant  not  only 
to  observe,  but  to  enforce.  His  reply  was,  'Of  course 
such  matters  cannot  be  arbitrated.'  I  told  him  that 
as  the  representative  of  a  neutral  country,  I  should  be 
discreet  in  my  expressions  concerning  the  great  war  in 
which  Russia  and  most  of  Europe  was  engaged,  espe- 
cially as  the  United  States  was  here  looking  after  the 
interests  of  Germany  and  Austria.  During  this  state- 
ment he  was  smiling  and  bowing  his  head  affirmatively, 
and  when  later  I  told  him  that  my  personal  sympathies 
were  with  the  Allies  and  had  been  from  the  beginning 
and  that  my  sentiments  on  the  subject  were  well  known 
in  the  community  where  I  lived  and  also  throughout 
the  country,  he  smiled  in  a  pleased  manner,  and  said  he 
was  confident  such  was  the  case  but  was  delighted  to 
hear  it  from  my  own  lips. 

"When  I  told  him  I  was  residing  at  the  Embassy,  he 
expressed  satisfaction,  but  when  I  went  further  and 
told  him  that  I  planned  to  make  an  effort  to  induce  my 
country  to  purchase  a  home  for  the  Embassy  in  Petro- 
grad,  he  was  exceedingly  pleased  and  said  such  action 
would  be  very  gratifying  to  the  Russian  people. 

"At  the  end  of  the  interview — I  can't  recall  whether 
it  was  terminated  by  the  Emperor  or  myself — upon  aris- 
ing I  asked  if  I  could  present  the  Embassy  staff.  He 
replied,  'Of  course.'  As  I  approached  the  door  a  uni- 
formed man  who  had  been  guarding  it,  threw  the  doors 
open  and  the  staff  entered.  I  presented  them  one  by 
one  to  the  Emperor  who  shook  hands  with  each.  I  said 
something  about  each  man  and  the  Emperor  also  made 
some  personal  remark  to  each  one. 


16      RUSSIA  FROM  THE  AMERICAN  EMBASSY 

"  After  this  ceremony  which  must  have  required  ten 
minutes,  I  was  conducted  to  another  room  in  the  castle 
where  the  Empress  was  waiting  to  receive  me.  She  very 
gracefully  advanced  with  extended  hand  and  after  a 
genuine  American  handshake,  conducted  me  to  a  seat. 
Suffice  it  to  say  she  was  exceedingly  gracious,  and  so  in- 
teresting that  when  back  on  the  way  to  Petrograd  I  was 
asked  by  the  members  of  the  staff  how  she  was  attired 
I  was  compelled  to  admit  that  she  was  so  entertaining 
that  I  had  forgotten  to  note  how  royalty  dressed  on  such 
occasions.  I  am  thinking  of  writing  to  the  Mistress  of 
the  Robes  to  ask  how  the  Empress  was  dressed,  but  shall 
not  do  so  before  being  told  whether  that  would  be  proper 
form, — of  course,  I  have  no  curiosity  myself  in  the  sub- 
ject, but  all  the  ladies  whom  I  meet  seem  to  be  very  much 
interested  and  furthermore  it  would  give  an  opportunity 
to  state  why  I  made  the  inquiry.  This,  however,  is 
pleasantry.  The  special  train  conveyed  us  back  to  Petro- 
grad where  we  arrived  about  4:30  p.m.  The  Petrograd 
papers  all  stated  that  the  Emperor  and  Empress  had 
received  me.  I  now  am  a  fullfledged  Ambassador ;  until 
my  reception  by  the  Emperor  First  Secretary  Dearing 
was  Charge  d 'Affaires  and  signed  all  the  official  com- 
munications to  the  Russian  Government. 

"Upon  my  return  to  the  Embassy  I  remitted  300 
roubles  to  a  member  of  Baron  Korff 's  staff  for  distribu- 
tion among  the  liveried  men  who  drove  and  rode  the 
horses  and  received  me  at  the  palace;  I  was  told  that 
such  was  the  custom  and  such  would  be  expected  of  me. 

"I  have  the  honor  to  be,  sir, 

"Your  obedient  servant, 

"David  R.  Francis." 

As  my  conversation  with  the  Emperor  was  drawing 
to  a  close  my  attention  was  attracted  by  a  very  fine  life- 


FIRST  IMPRESSIONS  17 

sized  portrait.  I  remarked  to  His  Majesty  that  it  was 
a  very  fine  likeness  of  him.  He  smiled  and  replied,  "It 
is  not  me  at  all,  but  my  cousin,  King  George.  You  are 
not  the  first  one,  however,  who  has  mistaken  that  paint- 
ing for  a  portrait  of  me.'* 

The  Emperor's  domestic  relations  were  ideal.  He 
was  devoted  to  the  Empress  and  to  his  children,  particu- 
larly the  frail  little  Czarovitch.  Before  his  marriage  to 
Princess  Alix  of  Hesse-Darmstadt,  he  was  said  to  have 
been  devoted  to  Dshesinskaya,  the  ballet  dancer;  who, 
until  some  weeks  after  the  March  Revolution  lived  in  a 
beautiful  palace  across  the  River  Neva  from  the  Ameri- 
can Embassy,  and  had  charge  of  the  Imperial  ballet. 
However  this  may  have  been,  his  love  for  the  Empress 
and  his  faithfulness  to  her  were  never  questioned. 

I  cannot  better  describe  the  relations  between  the  royal 
couple  and  the  character  of  each  than  by  telling  the  fol- 
lowing story  as  related  by  Dr.  Dillon,  the  well-known 
British  publicist  and  authority  on  Russia,  whose  son  was 
a  member  of  my  staff. 

Once  a  nobleman  of  great  experience  and  progressive 
tendencies  was  received  in  audience  by  the  Czar.  He 
laid  before  the  sovereign  the  wretched  state  of  the  peas- 
antry, the  resulting  general  unrest  and  the  strong  neces- 
sity of  remedying  it  by  a  modification  of  the  political 
machinery  of  the  Government.  The  Emperor,  after  lis- 
tening very  attentively  and  approvingly  to  his  visitor, 
said,  "I  know.  Yes,  yes.  You  are  right,  quite  right." 
The  nobleman  retired  well  satisfied  with  his  interview 
and  feeling  certain  that  the  monarch  would  mollify  his 
policy.  Immediately  afterwards  a  great  landowner,  also 
a  member  of  the  nobility,  was  ushered  in  and  he  unfolded 
a  very  different  story.  He  sought  to  show  that  affairs 
were  quite  satisfactory  with  the  exception  of  the  leniency 
of  the  throne  toward  peasants.  "What  is  needed,  Sire, 


18      RUSSIA  FROM  THE  AMERICAN  EMBASSY 

is  an  iron  hand.  The  peasants  must  be  kept  in  their 
place  by  force,  otherwise  they  will  usurp  ours.  To  yield 
to  them  and  treat  them  as  though  they  were  the  masters 
of  the  country  is  a  great  crime."  To  this  statement, 
Nicholas  II,  after  giving  an  attentive  audience,  said, 
"Yes,  yes,  I  know.  You  are  right,  quite  right."  The 
second  visitor  departed  as  pleased  with  his  interview 
as  the  first  had  been.  A  side  door  opened,  the  Empress 
entered,  and  said  to  the  Czar:  "You  really  must  not  go 
on  like  this,  Nicky.  It  is  not  dignified.  Remember  you 
are  an  autocrat.  You  should  show  a  will  strong  enough 
to  stiffen  a  nation  of  150,000,000  people!" 

"But  what  is  it  you  find  fault  with,  darling?" 

"Your  want  of  resolution  and  of  courage  to  express  it. 
I  have  been  listening  to  the  conversation  you  have  just 
had.  Count  S.,  whom  you  first  received,  pleaded  the 
cause  of  the  disaffected.  You  assented  to  everything  he 
advanced  telling  him  he  was  'right,  quite  right.'  Then 
M.  Y.  was  introduced.  He  gave  you  an  account  of  things 
as  they  really  are  and  you  agreed  with  him  in  just  the 
same  way  saying,  'You  are  right,  quite  right!'  Well, 
now  such  an  attitude  does  not  befit  an  autocrat.  You 
must  learn  to  have  a  will  of  your  own  and  assert  it." 

"You  are  right,  dear,  quite  right,"  was  the  reply  of 
the  Czar. 

I  never  met  the  Empress  again,  but  I  shall  always 
remember  her  as  a  dignified,  graceful  and  exceedingly 
handsome  woman,  with  strong  features  and  a  pleasant 
expression.  She  was  very  proud  and  very  jealous  of  the 
royal  prerogatives  of  the  Emperor.  She  was  an  absolute 
monarchist  by  birth,  by  nature  and  by  training.  She 
supplanted  her  mother-in-law,  the  Empress  Dowager,  in 
dominating  the  weak-willed  Emperor  who  had  such  a 
dread  of  controversy  that  he  would  agree  with  anyone 
on  any  subject  so  long  as  they  were  in  his  presence. 


CHAPTER  II 
GERMAN  INFLUENCE  IN  RUSSIAN  AFFAIRS 

ON  July  22nd  all  Kussia  was  startled  by  the  sudden 
and  unexpected  resignation  of  Foreign  Minister  Sazo- 
noff .  Ten  days  later  I  wrote  Secretary  Lansing  the  fol- 
lowing letter  about  this  resignation : 

"Personal  and  confidential 

"Petrograd,  July  25th,  1916. 
"Dear  Mr.  Secretary: 

"The  resignation  of  Foreign  Minister  Sazonoff  and 
the  appointment  of  Minister  of  Interior  Stunner  as  his 
successor  was  announced  in  the  papers  Sunday  morning, 
July  23rd,  and  was  a  great  surprise  to  all  classes  of  peo- 
ple and  to  every  section  of  the  country.  On  Monday,  July 
10th,  upon  which  day  I  was  expecting  a  conference  with 
Mr.  Sazonoff  concerning  a  plan  between  the  Allies  and 
Belligerents  whereby  America  could  extend  aid  to  Po- 
land, etc.,  the  Embassy  was  informed  by  telephone  that 
the  Minister  had  been  called  to  the  front  to  confer  with 
the  Emperor.  Mr.  Sazonoff  returned  to  Petrograd  the 
morning  of  Thursday,  July  13th.  I  saw  him  that  after- 
noon in  company  with  Mr.  Samuel  McRoberts,  of  the  Na- 
tional City  Bank  of  New  York,  who  had  asked  to  pay  his 
respects,  and  to  whom  the  Minister  extended  a  cordial 
welcome  because  Mr.  McRoberts  had  formed  the  Ameri- 
can syndicate  which  loaned  $50,000,000  to  the  Russian 
Government.  Mr.  Sazonoff  complained  of  being  tired 
and  said  that  on  the  following  day,  July  14th,  he  would  go 
to  Finland  for  a  rest  of  two  or  three  weeks.  He  was  in 

19 


20     RUSSIA  FROM  THE  AMERICAN  EMBASSY 

Finland  when  his  resignation  was  announced  and  is  still 
there. 

"Universal  regret  is  expressed  at  the  retirement  of 
Mr.  Sazonoff,  which  he  and  the  Emperor  and  all  mem- 
bers of  the  Government  attribute  to  ill  health.  At  the 
same  time  there  are  rumors  to  the  effect  that  his  parting 
with  the  Emperor  on  July  12th  was  not  only  friendly  but 
affectionate;  the  Emperor,  it  is  said,  kissed  him  three 
times  and  expressed  the  highest  appreciation  of  his  pub- 
lic services.  The  day  after  the  Minister's  departure  the 
Empress  joined  the  Emperor  at  his  military  headquar- 
ters, and  two  days  later  Mr.  Sazonoff  received  a  telegram 
asking  for  his  immediate  resignation.  Whether  this  is 
true  no  one  can  say  authoritatively.  It  is  generally  be- 
lieved, however,  that  the  Empress  is  very  desirous  of 
peace.  She  has  long  been  suspected  of  German  sym- 
pathies. One  story  was  to  the  effect  that  when  Minister 
Sazonoff  was  directed  to  submit  to  Russia's  Allies  pro- 
posals of  peace  suggested  by  Germany,  he  refused  to  do 
so,  whereupon  Mr.  Sturmer  said  he  would  submit  such 
proposals  if  the  Foreign  Minister  declined  to  do  so,  and 
that  thereupon  Mr.  Sazonoff  resigned. 

"Mr.  Sturmer  is  looked  upon  as  a  reactionary;  in  fact 
that  is  his  record.  Some  charge  him  with  being  an  op- 
portunist and  with  having  no  convictions.  He  is  not 
reputed  to  possess  a  keen  intellect  or  an  incisive  mind; 
on  the  contrary  he  is  said  to  be  slow  of  comprehension, 
but  stubborn  and  possessed  of  great  courage.  I  have 
had  two  conferences  with  him,  and  must  say  that  he  did 
not  impress  me  as  a  man  with  breadth  of  view  or  imbued 
with  high  ideals.  He  is  of  German  origin,  but  his  loyalty 
to  Russia  in  this  contest  has  never  been  questioned.  As 
Minister  of  the  Interior  his  jurisdiction  has  been  very 
extensive  and  his  power  great. 

' '  This  would  indicate  that  the  court  party  of  the  Em- 


GEEMAN  INFLUENCE  IN  RUSSIA  21 

pire  is  preparing  to  counteract  what  they  fear  will  be 
a  liberal  movement  on  the  part  of  the  people  after  the 
close  of  the  war.  It  is  now  charged  that  Eussia  is  plan- 
ning to  make  a  separate  peace  with  Germany.  One  re- 
port is  to  the  effect  that  von  Lucius,  present  Minister 
from  Germany  at  Stockholm,  has  recently  made  a  secret 
visit  to  Eussia  and  suggested  terms  of  peace  which  are 
attractive  to  Eussia  and  not  objectionable  to  France, 
as  they  provide  for  ceding  to  France  Lorraine,  which 
has  belonged  to  Germany  since  1870.  It  is  not  fully 
known  what  concessions  are  proposed  for  England,  but 
she  is  to  be  propitiated  by  being  allowed -to  retain  the 
German  South  African  Colonies  which  she  has  captured. 
Japan  will  be  appeased  by  being  permitted  to  retain  the 
territory  she  has  captured  in  the  Far  East.  It  is  said 
that  Germany  is  willing  to  recognize  the  integrity  of 
Belgium  and  to  indemnify  her  for  damage  inflicted. 

"In  the  meantime  Eussia  is  marshaling  the  largest 
army  ever  assembled.  She  has  already  called  16,100,000 
men,  and  in  a  call  issued  ten  days  ago  increased  this 
number  by  2,500,000,  making  a  total  of  18,600,000.  What 
an  army !  What  a  menace  it  would  be  to  other  countries 
if  these  men  were  armed  and  well  organized!  It  may 
be  that  the  supporters  of  an  absolute  monarchy  in  Eussia 
are  asking  themselves  what  such  an  army,  well  disci- 
plined and  conscious  of  its  strength,  will  do  in  Eussia 
when  there  are  no  more  foreign  enemies  to  fight.  These 
soldiers  are  as  fine  looking  men  as  I  ever  saw  carry  a 
niusket.  I  have  seen  thousands  of  them  coming  into  Pet- 
rograd  in  obedience  to  a  call,  fresh  from  the  fields,  boys 
who  had  never  before  seen  a  village  of  over  2,000  inhabi- 
tants, with  sunken  chests,  slip-shod  gait  and  careless 
carriage.  After  three  or  four  weeks  of  drill,  equipped 
with  military  clothing,  including  boots  of  which  they  are 
very  proud,  they  march  singing  through  the  streets  with 


22     RUSSIA  FROM  THE  AMERICAN  EMBASSY 

swinging  gait,  heads  high  in  the  air,  chests  out-thrown, 
and  their  very  countenances  manifesting  pride  in  their 
country  and  consciousness  of  their  own  power.  After  ar- 
rival in  their  barracks  they  are  given  the  most  nourishing 
food,  including  meat  which  previously  they  had  had  not 
more  than  once  a  week, — soup  and  black  bread  having 
been  their  principal  means  of  subsistence. 

"The  last  call,  which  comprised  2,500,000  men,  was  to 
have  gone  into  effect  July  15th-28th,  but  yesterday  the 
date  when  the  call  was  to  be  effective  was  postponed  from 
July  15th  to  August  15th.  This  change  of  date  may  not 
have  any  significance,  but  it  was  determined  upon  the  day 
after  Sazonoff 's  resignation  and  Stunner's  appointment. 

"Minister  Sazonoff  was  and  is  a  bitter  enemy  of  Ger- 
many. Von  Lucius,  present  Minister  to  Stockholm,  was 
Counselor  of  the  German  Embassy  in  Petrograd  and  its 
ruling  spirit  when  the  war  began.  He  told  me  in  Stock- 
holm that  he  and  Sazonoff  were  formerly  friends,  but 
that  Sazonoff  now  dislikes  him  very  intensely.  Sazonoff 
told  me  on  the  other  hand,  that  he  had  never  liked  von 
Lucius,  never  trusted  him,  and  if  he  did  not  consider 
him  crazy  and  irresponsible,  would  say  he  was  a  liar  and 
a  rascal. 

"You  have  probably  seen  before  reading  thus  far  that 
I  am  disposed  to  share  in  the  belief  that  the  resignation 
of  Sazonoff  was  forced  and  that  the  promotion  of  Stur- 
mer  is  a  triumph  for  the  party  of  reaction  and  for  the 
champion  of  absolute  monarchy  in  Russia,  although  the 
victory  may  be  due  in  part  to  the  strengthening  of  pro- 
German  sentiment  in  the  Empire. 

"I  have  the  honor  to  be,  sir, 

"Your  obedient  servant, 

"David  R.Francis." 

In  a  later  letter  to  the  Secretary  of  State  on  the  same 


GERMAN  INFLUENCE  IN  RUSSIA  23 

subject,  written  August  14th,  I  said :  * '  The  new  Minister 
of  Foreign  Affairs,  Baron  Sturmer,  who  is  still  President 
of  the  Council  of  Ministers,  does  not  seem  to  have  the 
respect  of  any  of  the  prominent  Russians  whom  I  have 
met.  His  predecessor,  Mr.  Sazonoff,  was  looked  upon  as 
a  statesman,  but  when  I  asked  the  president  of  a  large 
bank  in  Petrograd,  a  man  who  is  said  to  be  the  ablest 
financier  in  the  Empire,  what  he  thought  of  Baron  Stur- 
mer's  appointment  to  the  Foreign  Office,  he  said,  'It  is 
just  as  appropriate  as  would  be  the  appointment  of  a 
tailor  to  the  place  I  occupy.'  It  is  generally  believed 
that  the  reactionaries  are  in  the  saddle  and  were  looking 
for  an  opportunity  to  unhorse  Minister  Sazonoff,  who  is 
looked  upon  as  a  liberal.  Baron  Sturmer  is  said  to 
have  remarked  after  learning  of  the  first  victories  of 
General  Brousiloff  in  Galicia,  'One  or  two  more  such 
victories  and  we  can  do  away  with  the  Duma. '  Whether 
these  reports  are  true  remains  to  be  proven.  There  is 
no  doubt,  however,  that  the  liberal  or  progressive  element 
in  Russia  is  greatly  disappointed  and  chagrined  at  the 
removal  of  Sazonoff  and  the  appointment  of  Sturmer. 
I  think  in  a  former  letter  I  stated  that  while  the  loyalty 
of  Sturmer  had  never  been  questioned,  that  he  and  the 
reactionaries  generally  were  more  disposed  to  sympa- 
thize with  Germany  than  any  other  element  in  Russia. 
My  view  concerning  the  benefit  to  the  plain  people  of 
Russia  through  their  education  and  the  broadening  of 
their  views  by  the  war  is  stronger  now  than  when  ex- 
pressed two  or  three  weeks  ago.  I  do  not  think  there 
will  be  a  revolution  immediately  after  the  close  of  the 
war;  that  would  be  premature,  but  if  the  Court  Party 
does  not  adopt  a  more  liberal  policy  by  extending  more 
privileges  to  the  people  and  their  representatives  in  the 
Duma,  a  revolution  will  take  place  before  the  lapse  of 
even  a  few  years. 


24      RUSSIA  FROM  THE  AMERICAN  EMBASSY 

"In  the  meantime,  not  only  are  the  Russian  people 
acquiring  more  information  concerning  the  resources  of 
their  own  country,  but  it  seems  to  me  that  the  attention 
of  the  world  is  becoming  directed  or  fixed  more  intently 
on  Russia  from  day  to  day.  European  and  American 
newspapers  and  periodicals  all  dwell  upon  the  magnifi- 
cence of  this  Empire,  and  its  undeveloped  wealth  and 
immense  possibilities.  There  will  be  a  great  competition 
for  the  trade  of  Russia  after  the  close  of  the  war.  Ameri- 
can enterprise  is  already  looking  with  interested  eyes 
on  the  mineral  deposits,  the  great  water  power,  and  the 
opportunities  for  railroad  construction  which  this  coun- 
try offers.  Several  Americans  are  going  home  by  the 
steamer  which  takes  this  pouch,  but  there  is  not  one  of 
them  that  is  not  planning  to  return  to  Russia,  as  all  think 

/'  there  is  no  field  on  earth  to  be  compared  with  this.  The 
National  City  Bank  has  decided  to  open  a  branch  here, 
and  I  think  it  is  not  only  a  good  move  for  that  institution 
but  will  prove  highly  beneficial  to  the  commercial  re- 
lations of  the  two  countries.  I  have  no  intention  or 
desire  to  violate  the  neutrality  of  America,  but  in  my 
judgment  American  capital  and  ingenuity  should  be  en- 
couraged here  in  order  to  offset,  if  nothing  more,  the 
well-designed  plan  of  England,  and  perhaps  France  also, 
to  capture  the  trade  of  Russia  after  the  war  through  the 

y  operation  of  the  resolutions  passed  at  the  Economic 
Conference  of  the  Allies  held  in  Paris,  June  17th-20th. 
There  have  been  many  Americans  here,  and  perhaps  there 
are  some  now,  who  are  unwise  enough  to  take  advantage 
of  the  necessities  of  Russia  to  extort  unreasonable  prices 
for  what  they  have  to  sell;  that  is  short-sighted  policy, 
however,  and  one  which  I  am  advising  all  Americans  to 
avoid.  Your  cautions  concerning  the  improper  use  of 
the  pouch  are  timely  and  just,  but  all  other  embassies 


GERMAN  INFLUENCE  IN  RUSSIA  25 

and  legations  here  do  not  hesitate  to  use  their  respective 
pouches  to  promote  commerce  for  their  countries." 

In  a  later  letter  written  to  my  friend  and  business  asso- 
ciate, Breckinridge  Jones,  President  of  the  Mississippi 
Yalley  Trust  Company,  St.  Louis,  I  expressed  my  view  of 
an  Ambassador's  opportunities  and  obligations  regard- 
ing commercial  relations — a  view  which  longer  experience 
has  strengthened. 

"It  has  been  the  policy  of  our  foreign  representatives 
of  the  diplomatic  service  to  eschew  all  commercial  mat- 
ters and  refer  them  to  the  consuls.  My  judgment  from 
the  beginning  was,  and  my  experience  of  seven  months 
has  only  served  to  strengthen  that  opinion,  that  friendly 
diplomatic  relations  could  be  engendered  and  ^fostered 
and  promoted  by  close  commercial  relations.  Conse- 
quently, from  the  beginning,  since  taking  charge  here 
April  28th  last,  I  have  devoted  much  thought  and  time 
to  cultivating  direct  commercial  relations  between  the 
United  States  and  Russia.  Several  hints  were  given 
me  soon  after  I  came  that  I  had  too  keen  a  scent  for 
commerce  to  make  an  ideal  diplomat;  but  such  insinua- 
tions only  served  to  amuse  me  and  had  no  effect  upon 
my  plans.  Very  soon  after  I  came  an  Economic  Confer- 
ence between  the  Allies  was  planned  and  held  June  17th- 
20th.  Immediately  upon  being  advised  of  the  resolutions 
there  adopted,  I  called  upon  the  then  Minister  of  Foreign 
Affairs  Sazonoff  and  told  him  that  those  resolutions,  al- 
though ostensibly  and  professedly  adopted  to  destroy 
the  commercial  prestige  of  Germany,  would  operate  with 
almost  equal  effect  against  all  neutral  countries  and  could 
not  be  enforced.  It  was  not  long  thereafter  before  Brice 
and  some  other  broad-minded  Britishers  expressed  the 
same  view.  Those  resolutions  have  never  been  confirmed 
by  Russia  either  through  the  Duma  or  the  Council  of 
Ministers. 


26      RUSSIA  FROM  THE  AMERICAN  EMBASSY 

"There  is  a  limit,  however,  to  promoting  American 
commerce  with  Russia,  beyond  which  it  would  be  unwise 
for  me  or  anyone  to  go,  as  there  is  a  feeling  more  preva- 
lent in  England  than  in  any  other  foreign  country  and 
more  so  in  France  than  in  Russia,  but  a  feeling  that  is 
growing  here,  to  the  effect  that  America  is  being  so 
enormously  enriched  by  the  prosecution  of  the  war  that 
she  does  not  wish  to  end  it.  You  can  see  without  my  go- 
ing further  into  this  subject  that  if  I  should  ostensibly 
devote  more  time  to  the  prosecution  of  commerce  than  to 
the  diplomatic  relations  between  the  two  countries,  this 
feeling,  which  does  great  injustice  to  America,  would  be 
strengthened  and  might  find  expression  in  a  way  that 
would  be  not  only  disagreeable  but  offensive  to  me  and 
to  our  countrymen.  In  England  and  to  a  less  extent  in 
France  there  is  a  feeling  that  the  war  now  being  waged 
is  for  the  great  principles  in  which  America  is  as  much 
interested  as  any  other  country,  and  consequently  the 
United  States,  instead  of  holding  aloof  and  getting 
enormous  prices  for  what  she  furnished,  should  be  par- 
ticipating in  the  conflict." 

At  about  the  same  time  (October  26th,  1916),  in  a  letter 
to  my  friend,  Hamilton  Cooke,  of  St.  Louis,  I  wrote: 
"An  American  doctor  who  came  here  at  the  beginning 
of  the  war  and  tendered  his  services  to  Russia,  Dr.  Hurd, 
who  is  now  Surgeon-General  of  an  army  corps  of  40,000 
men,  an  American  soldier  of  fortune  about  6  feet  2  inches, 
and  weighing  250  pounds,  came  to  Petrograd  from  the 
front  not  a  great  while  ago,  and  told  me  he  had  seen  a 
Russian  army  advancing  in  which  only  every  other  man 
had  a  gun  and  the  men  without  guns  were  told  to  seize 
the  guns  of  their  armed  comrades  when  they  fell/* 

I  wrote  in  1920,  "the  German  people  are  continuing 
to  show  their  appreciation  of  the  resources  of  Russia 
by  supporting  the  Bolsheviks  in  their  efforts  to  dominate 


GERMAN  INFLUENCE  IN  EUSSIA  27 

Russia.     The  Bolshevik  army  is  at  present  organized 
and  disciplined  by  German  officers  and  German  commer- 

^  cial  agents  are  the  only  ones  permitted  to  enter  Bol- 
shevik Russia.  Germany  was  threatened  at  one  time 
by  Bolshevik  domination  but  checkmated  the  movement 
by  forming  a  republic  which  is  nominally  socialistic  but 
far  from  a  Soviet  Republic.  The  German  mind  works 
in  various  ways  and  by  devious  methods.  It  embraces 

,  any  strategy  to  accomplish  its  end.  Germany  having 
been  defeated  in  its  effort  to  subjugate  the  world  by 
force  is  resorting  to  other  means  and  is  pushing  with 
unparalleled  energy  and  activity  her  well-planned  eco- 

'     nomic  conquest  of  Russia  and  the  world." 

Although  it  had  no  connection  with  the  loan  referred 
to  in  the  letter  to  Secretary  Lansing,  I  believe  it  would 
here  be  appropriate  to  mention  some  of  the  facts  and 
figures  relative  to  Russia's  wealth  which  I  gathered 
about  a  year  and  a  half  later  at  the  time  I  was  recom- 
mending that  our  Government  extend  financial  assistance 
to  the  Provisional  Government  of  Russia.  I  found  that 
aside  from  her  public  buildings  and  domiciles  formerly 
occupied  by  the  imperial  family  and  state  officials,  Russia 
had  millions  upon  millions  of  acres  of  tillable  lands, 
forests  of  immeasurable  extent,  ore  deposits  both  pre- 

t  cious  and  base,  to  say  nothing  of  vast  water  power.  I 
talked  with  N.  Pokrovsky,  former  Comptroller  of  the 
Empire  and  former  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs  and 
then  Chairman  of  the  Commission  engaged  in  appraising 
the  value  of  Russia's  property.  I  also  talked  with  sev- 
eral of  the  leading  business  men  and  bankers  of  Russia, 
and  they  all  said  that  Russia's  wealth  far  exceeded  that 
of  any  other  country  on  the  earth.  I  asked  if  two  hun- 
dred billion  roubles  (a  rouble  is  equivalent  to  51^>  cents) 
would  be  an  overestimate,  to  which  the  invariable  reply 
was, '  *  It  *s  very  much  greater  than  that ! ' '  This  property 


28    RUSSIA  FROM  THE  AMERICAN  EMBASSY 

includes  crown  lands,  but  does  not  comprise  land  or 
property  privately  owned  and  upon  which  taxes  are  paid. 
It  is  similar  to  the  public  domain  of  the  United  States 
which  was  sold  by  the  Government  to  actual  settlers.  I 
am  of  the  opinion,  therefore,  that  although  the  national 
debt  of  Russia  is  forty-one  billion  roubles,  it  might  be 
doubled,  or  trebled  or  quadrupled  without  jeopardizing 
the  interests  of  the  holders  of  Russian  bonds.  The  re.- 
sources  of  the  country  owning  between  one-seventh  and 
one-sixth  of  the  dry  land  on  the  globe  and  having  a  popu- 
lation of  nearly  two  hundred  million,  possessed  of  com- 
mon sense  and  kindly  instincts  is,  in  fact,  incalculable. 

On  September  23rd,  1916,  I  wrote  Mr.  Lansing  re- 
garding my  efforts  to  improve  commercial  relations  be- 
tween Russia  and  America  by  securing  a  direct  cable 
between  the  two  countries.  I  said : 

"I  took  up  with  the  Premier  and  Minister  of  Foreign 
Affairs  the  question  of  laying  a  cable  to  the  United 
States,  and  also  made  calls  in  relation  thereto  upon  the 
Minister  of  the  Interior,  the  Director-General  of  Posts 
and  Telegraphs,  and  the  Minister  of  Finance, — all  of 
whom  expressed  themselves  quite  favorably  toward  the 
project.  Finance  Minister  Bark  was  almost  enthusiastic, 
and  when  I  ventured  to  tell  him  of  the  complaints  that 
had  come  to  my  hearing  from  American  and  Russian 
merchants  as  to  the  commercial  domination  of  England, 
he  bowed  affirmatively  and  said  that  while  not  speaking 
officially  it  was  personally  distasteful  to  him.  It  has  been 
reported  in  Petrograd  several  times  that  Minister  Bark 
was  to  be  removed  because  he  was  wholly  under  English 
influence.  England  is  financing  all  of  the  Allies,  who 
are  no  doubt  depending  upon  her  for  such  service,  con- 
sequently they  must  accept  the  terms  she  imposes. 

"It  is  very  desirable  that  American  merchants  should 
get  a  firm  foothold  in  Russia  while  the  opportunity  is 


GERMAN  INFLUENCE  IN  RUSSIA  29 

presented.  It  is,  consequently,  very  important  that  this 
cable  should  he  laid  at  once.  As  you  have  been  advised 
in  several  other  communications,  I  took  up  the  subject 
with  the  Western  Union  Telegraph  Company  just  before 
clearing  from  New  York  for  Russia,  and  have  since  ex- 
changed several  letters  with  the  President  of  the  com- 
pany, Mr.  Newcomb  Carlton,  and  am  in  receipt  of  a  cable 
from  him  which  is  confined  to  two  words,  'Six  million.' 
That  is  in  reply  to  a  letter  of  mine  asking  him  the  cost 
of  laying  such  a  cable  and  suggesting  that  he  frame  his 
reply  so  that  no  one  would  understand  it  except  myself. 
I  conclude,  therefore,  that  the  cable  can  be  laid  for  $6,- 
000,000,  and  so  told  Minister  Bark.  He  expressed  very 
great  surprise  that  it  would  not  cost  more  and  said  that 
he  would  recommend  to  the  Council  of  Ministers  that 
an  appropriation  to  the  amount  of  $3,000,000  be  made 
and  that  the  cable  be  owned  half  by  our  Government  and 
half  by  his,  and  I  cabled  you  to  that  effect. 

"Russia  seems  to  have  become  aroused  to  her  woful 
want  of  transportation  facilities  and  is  planning  the 
,  construction  of  many  lines  of  railroads  for  which  she 
will  have  to  buy  a  large  quantity  of  material.  She  has 
within  her  borders  boundless  forests  and  immeasurable 
deposits  of  iron,  ore  and  coal,  but  the  demands  of  the  peo- 
ple are  immediate  and  will  have  to  be  supplied  to  a  great 
extent  from  other  countries.  We  should  be  prepared  to 
take  advantage  of  the  situation,  and  direct  cable  com- 
munication is  essential  to  that  end. 

1 '  I  trust  that  you  will  look  favorably  upon  this  project 
and  will  give  it  your  potential  personal  and  official 
support." 

The  Russian  government  carried  out  its  part  of  the 
bargain  and  appropriated  the  $3,000,000,  but  our  govern- 
ment declined  to  participate  on  the  ground  that  it  could 
not  engage  in  business  enterprises. 


30     RUSSIA  FROM  THE  AMERICAN  EMBASSY 

This  Russia  whose  wealth,  exclusive  of  private  lands 
and  property,  is  underestimated  at  200,000,000,000 
roubles,  and  whose  population  is  almost  200,000,000,  is 
the  prize  for  which  Germany  has  been  contending  for 
generations;  first,  through  commercial  penetration 
(which  would  have  been  complete  and  permanent  within 
another  decade) ;  second,  by  war;  and  then  by  means  of 
Bolshevism. 


CHAPTER 
TREASON  IN  HIGH  PLACES 

IN  spite  of  what  Foreign  Minister  Sazonoff  had  told 
me  of  Russia's  unwillingness  to  negotiate  any  commer- 
cial treaty  with  any  country  until  the  future  economic 
relations  between  Eussia  and  her  Allies  had  been  defi- 
nitely determined,  such  a  treaty  with  Japan  was  an- 
nounced about  sixty  days  later  which  must  have  been 
in  process  of  negotiation  at  that  time.  In  a  letter  written 
about  this  time,  I  commented  in  these  terms  on  the  situa- 
tion thus  created : 

" Russia's  position  at  this  time  is  dangerous  or  cer- 
tainly very  serious.  Japan  took  advantage  of  Russia's 
inability  to  protect  her  Eastern  Border  and  dictated  a 
Russian-Japanese  Treaty,  much  to  my  regret,  although 
I  was  unable  to  prevent  it;  however,  I  did  express  my 
disapproval  of  it  to  Sazonoff  immediately  after  its 
promulgation. 

"No  one  here  outside  of  the  Ministry,  and  not  all  of 
the  Ministers,  in  my  judgment,  knew  anything  about  this 
Japanese  Treaty  until  it  was  promulgated,  and  I  have 
never  ceased  to  suspect  that  there  are  some  provisions 
in  the  treaty  which  have  never  been  made  public.  The 
Japanese  Ambassador,  Motono,  who  negotiated  the 
treaty,  was  immediately  made  a  Viscount  by  the  Mikado, 
and  has  since  been  called  to  Japan,  where  he  was  in- 
stalled last  week  as  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs.  Japan 
had  banquets,  and  bonfires  and  festivals  in  celebration 
of  the  treaty,  but  there  has  never  been  any  expression 
of  approval  of  it  in  Russia — in  fact  the  people  of  this 

31 


32     'RUSSIA  FROM  THE  AMERICAN  EMBASSY 

country  in  private  conversation  with  me  and  with  others 
have  expressed  very  great  regret  that  such  a  treaty 
was  entered  into.  I  believe,  as  stated  above,  that  Japan 
forced  that  treaty  upon  Russia;  of  course,  Japan  is  an 
I  ally  of  Russia  in  this  war;  she  was  far-seeing  and  adroit 
enough  to  declare  war  against  Germany  soon  after  Ger- 
many declared  war  against  Russia.  But  if  reports  here 
are  true,  Japan  made  Germany  believe  not  only  that  she 
would  not  join  Germany's  enemies  but  would  become  an 
ally  of  Germany,  and  Germany  believed  that  Japan  was 
honest  in  this  intention  until  Japan  secured  a  number 
of  men-of-war  and  some  great  munitions  of  war  which 
she  had  ordered  from  Germany,  then  she  declared  war 
against  Germany  in  order  to  become  the  possessor  of 
Germany's  holdings  on  the  Chinese  coast.  Japan  is 
now  making  every  effort  to  strengthen  her  foothold  in 
China,  and  the  United  States  should  watch  the  progress 
of  this  effort  diligently  and  jealously.  The  Japanese  are 
not  only  unscrupulous,  but  bright  and  resourceful  and  in- 
tensely patriotic.  China  has  a  population  of  400,000,000 
— twice  that  of  Russia  and  four  times  that  of  the  United 
States.  If  Japan  secures  control  of  China,  she  can  form 
and  discipline  an  army  that  will  be  even  larger  than  the 
enormous  one  that  Russia  has  now  and  then  there  will 
be  a  'Yellow  Peril'  indeed." 

I  never  knew  exactly  what  the  terms  of  this  Russo- 
Japanese  Treaty  were  until  it  was  published  in  De- 
cember, 1917,  by  the  Soviet  Government  together  with 
the  other  secret  treaties  into  which  the  Imperial  Govern- 
ment had  entered.  The  first  two  articles  of  this  treaty 
give  its  essentials.  They  read: 

Article  I. 

"Both  the  High  Contracting  Parties  recognize  that 
the  vital  interests  of  both  of  them  require  the  preserva- 


TREASON  IN  HIGH  PLACES  33 

tion  of  China  from  the  political  mastery  of  any  third 
Power  nourishing  hostile  intentions  against  Russia  or 
Japan — and,  therefore,  mutually  bind  themselves  in 
future,  whenever  the  circumstances  demand  it,  to  enter 
with  each  other  into  open-hearted  communications  based 
on  entire  confidence,  in  order  to  take  together  the  meas- 
ures that  shall  be  necessary  to  exclude  the  possibility  of 
such  a  situation  of  affairs  arising  (in  China)." 

Article  II. 

"In  the  event  that,  as  a  consequence  of  measures 
adopted  by  the  common  consent  of  Russia  and  Japan, 
on  the  basis  of  the  preceding  article,  war  were  to  be  de- 
clared by  any  third  Power,  contemplated  by  the  first 
article  of  this  convention,  against  one  of  the  Contracting 
Parties,  the  other  Party,  at  the  first  demand  of  its  ally, 
must  go  to  her  assistance;  each  of  the  high  Contracting 
Parties  hereby  undertakes,  in  case  such  a  situation  were 
to  arise,  not  to  make  peace  with  the  common  enemy  with- 
out first  having  received  its  ally's  consent  to  do  so." 

On  December  20th,  1916,  M.  Protopopoff,  who  had  been 
the  Vice-President  of  the  Duma,  was  appointed  by  the 
Czar  as  Minister  of  the  Interior.  He  was  looked  upon 
as  a  Liberal  at  the  time  of  his  appointment,  but  almost 
immediately  on  assuming  this  portfolio  he  became  a  Re- 
actionary of  the  most  extreme  type.  This  sudden  change 
of  front  was  naturally  bitterly  resented  by  his  former 
Liberal  associates. 

I  never  had  any  extended  conversation  with  Proto- 
popoff,  the  Czar's  most  hated  Minister.  He  had  been 
an  unusually  successful  business  man  before  he  entered 
public  life  and  had  been  highly  respected  in  commercial 
circles.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Russian  delegation 
to  the  Economic  Conference  held  in  Paris  in  June,  1916. 
On  his  way  back  to  Russia  he  was  believed  to  have  had 
a  preconcerted  meeting  in  Stockholm  with  agents  of  the 
German  Government  for  the  purpose  of  discussing  the 


34      RUSSIA  FROM  THE  AMERICAN  EMBASSY 

terms  of  a  separate  peace  between  Germany  and  Russia. 
It  was  freely  asserted  and  generally  believed  that  he 
owed  his  appointment  to  the  Ministry  to  the  monk  Ras- 
putin. A  leading  merchant  in  Petrograd  told  me  that 
he  thought  his  elevation  to  high  office  must  have  upset 
his  reason.  By  way  of  illustration,  he  said  Protopopoff 
had  recently  remarked  to  him,  ' '  Since  I  have  come  into 
contact  with  the  Czar,  I  have  changed  my  mind  about 
him.  I  have  really  come  to  hold  His  Majesty  in  high 
esteem  and  I  think  he  likes  me,  too." 

Protopopoff  was  charged  with  {deliberately  making 
food  scarce  for  the  purpose  of  inciting  uprisings  among 
the  people  which  would  give  him  an  excuse  for  their 
ruthless  suppression  and  also  make  possible  a  separate 
peace  with  Germany.  As  Minister  of  the  Interior,  he 
controlled  the  police  of  the  entire  Empire.  In  order  to 
make  them  his  ready  tools,  he  not  only  offered  them 
material  increase  in  pay,  but  promised  to  pay  an  hono- 
rarium of  2,000  roubles  to  the  family  of  any  policemen 
who  should  be  killed.  He  deliberately  deceived  the  Em- 
peror and  the  Empress  as  to  the  state  of  public  sentiment 
by  arranging  to  have  them  receive  scores  of  letters  pur- 
porting to  come  from  the  peasants  and  the  plain  people 
in  which  the  supposed  writers  affirmed  their  undying 
allegiance  to  the  monarchy  and  advised  the  suppression 
with  an  iron  hand  of  all  outbreaks  of  the  people.  Each 
letter  came  from  a  different  locality  and  alleged  to  give 
the  sentiment  of  that  part  of  the  Empire.  He  also  had 
machine  guns  placed  on  the  tops  of  the  buildings,  includ- 
ing even  the  Saint  Isaacs  and  Kazan  Cathedrals,  with 
which  to  shoot  down  the  people  should  they  gather  in 
crowds  to  defy  the  authorities. 

When  I  left  Petrograd,  February  27th,  1918,  Proto- 
popoff had  been  transferred  from  the  prison  of  the  Saint 


35 

Peter  and  Paul  Fortress  to  an  insane  asylum.  Whether 
he  still  lives  I  do  not  know. 

In  concluding  a  dispatch  to  the  Secretary  about  No- 
vember 7th,  1916, 1  wrote  as  follows : 

"There  have  been  manifestations  lately  of  unrest 
among  the  workers  in  the  factories  and  also  among  the 
long  lines  of  people  waiting  to  be  served  small  amounts 
of  sugar  or  meat  in  the  shops  where  such  things  are  dis- 
tributed. I  have  heard  it  rumored  that  these  rumblings 
are  instigated  by  German  money,  and  I  have  also  Heard 
it  charged  by  an  intelligent  man  who  gave  the  informa- 
tion to  me  in  the  most  confidential  way  that  the  Govern- 
ment itself  through  its  emissaries  is  attempting  to  bring 
about  an  uprising  of  the  people  in  order  to  give  Eussia 
an  excuse  to  negotiate  a  separate  peace.  Every  Minister 
in  the  Government  is  solicitous  about  the  tenure  of  his 
office.  The  Duma  will  meet  in  pursuance  of  adjournment 
on  November  lst-14th.  To-day's  papers  state  that  Prime 
Minister  Sturmer  will  be  unable  to  address  the  Duma 
because  of  illness.  He  is  not  seriously  ill  and  the  meeting 
is  one  week  off.  It  would  seem  that  he  fears  to  go 
through  the  ordeal." 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Duma  held  a  week  or  ten  days 
later,  the  reason  for  Prime  Minister  Stunner's  reluc- 
tance to  appear  before  that  body  was  explained  in  a 
I  thunder-bolt  oration  by  Professor  Paul  Miliukoff,  the 
Russian  scholar  and  statesman  who  is  so  well  and  favor- 
ably known  in  this  country, — which  is — in  my  view,  such 
a  classic  example  of  oratory  and  so  suggestive  of  the  old 
Hebrew  prophets  or  of  Cicero 's  attacks  on  Cataline  that 
I  am  going  to  reproduce  it  in  full. 

1  *  Gentlemen : 

"We  have  all  heard  of  funeral  orations,  sad  affairs,  yet 
they  serve  some  purpose.  Let  us  analyze  these  purposes. 


36     RUSSIA  FROM  THE  AMERICAN  EMBASSY 

Firstly,  we  see  such  orations  remind  the  relatives  and 
friends  of  the  deceased  of  some  of  his  good  qualities. 
Secondly,  they  may  inspire  a  listener  to  imitation;  and 
thirdly,  they  give  the  orator  an  opportunity  to  relieve  his 
feelings,  or,  better  still,  to  practice  his  oratorical  power. 

"But  have  you  noticed,  Gentlemen,  that  whatever  the 
aim  of  the  oration  it  leaves  the  dead  dead  ?  What  would 
you,  I  wonder,  think  of  an  individual  who  should  attempt 
an  oration  to  resurrect  the  dead — to  revive  the  spirit 
which  has  passed  and  bring  him  back  amongst  the  living? 
Mad?  Yes,  I  agree;  yet  there  are  such  occasions  when 
such  an  endeavor  would  be  permissible.  Gentlemen,  I 
am  standing  on  this  Tribune  with  this  mad  desire  upon 
mo.  Like  a  fire  this  desire  has  burned  into  my  very  soul. 
I  want  to  deliver  an  oration  over  the  dead,  to  resurrect 
it,  because  we,  the  mighty  Russian  Empire,  cannot  think 
of  leaving  dead  the  most  precious  entity  in  a  nation's 
possession.  The  corpse  over  which  I,  together  with  the 
bulk  of  Russian  society,  weep  tears  of  blood  must  not 
remain  lifeless.  We  must  revive  it.  You  and  I  must 
use  superhuman  effort,  all  our  powers,  magic,  witchcraft, 
call  it  what  you  like — but  it  must  be  made  to  live.  This 
highest  inheritance  of  a  nation — its  honor — must  not  be 
buried.  Tarry  with  me,  have  patience  with  me,  I  am  a 
sorrowful  mourner.  Honor  has  died  in  Russia  and  be- 
fore the  world  at  large  becomes  aware  of  our  dead  we 
must  bring  it  to  life  again. 

"Do  you  know  that  unless  you  act  now,  unless  you  do 
your  very  utmost,  the  name  of  Russia  will  stink  in  the 
nostrils  of  humanity?  Even  the  most  savage  tribes  of 
the  world  will  turn  aside  on  the  approach  of  a  Russian, 
because  Russia  is  about  to  betray  the  trust  of  her  Allies. 
Allies  of  whom  she  should  be  proud,  like  the  gaolbird 
when  he  is  received  by  the  Mayor  and  Corporation. 
Allies  to  whom  she  ought  to  listen  with  respect  and 
humiliation. 

' '  The  oldest  civilized  countries  in  the  world,  the  oldest 
democracies.  Allies  who  are  careful  in  the  selection  of 
their  friends.  Allies  who  have  lowered  their  prestige  to 
call  us  friends.  Allies  who  have  helped  us.  Allies  who 
have  worked  for  us.  Allies  who  fight  for  us.  Allies  of 


TREASON  IN  HIGH  PLACES  37 

blood's  wealth.  And  these  are  to  be  betrayed.  Judas 
has  closed  the  bargain!  Judas  is  the  traitor  amongst 
us.  I  quite  understand  your  turmoil.  I  can  read  the 
terror  in  your  eyes.  Even  the  President's  hand  is  quak- 
ing. He  rings  his  bell  nervously,  but  even  the  bell 
revolts ;  it  strikes,  but  instead  of  its  usual  shrill  note  you 
hear  it  muffled — the  funeral  bell.  No,  it  will  not  quiet 
me;  its  sound  reechoes  in  my  soul  and  urges  me  to 
further  effort.  I  have  here  the  evidence  of  Judas.  Evi- 
dence in  the  cold  figures — shekels,  Gentlemen.  The  pieces 
of  silver  of  betrayal.  A  new  sound  comes  out  of  the 
bell ;  the  jingle  of  silver,  the  blood  money. 

1  'Either  Russia  is  a  fool  or  a  knave.  "Which  is  it? 
Was  it  not  madness  to  appoint  as  a  Prime  Minister  a 
man  with  a  name  and  a  face  apart  from  our  sympathies 
and  methods;  a  man  of  a  race  with  whom  we  are  at 
war !  Is  it  a  frolic  in  which  our  manhood  from  the  lowest 
of  peasants  upwards  is  shedding  its  precious  blood?  Is 
it  a  money-making  expedition  into  which  we  are  sent? 
Are  the  trenches  the  steps  towards  riches  for  the  Premier 
and  his  clique?  Are  the  moans  of  the  wounded,  the 
groans  of  the  dying,  only  the  accompaniment  of  a  festival 
• — a  carnival?  Is  it  only  another  method  of  shedding 
Russian  blood  by  German  autocrats  in  Russia?  Has  it 
all  been  prearranged?  Answer!  Let  your  conscience, 
your  soul,  answer  before  you  howl  like  a  band  of  hooli- 
gans or  starving  wolves.  What  are  we  allowing  to  take 
place?  Why  are  we  silent?  Yes,  silence,  our  silence,  is 
golden  to  Stunner  and  his  colleagues;  but  for  us,  for 
our  generations  to  come,  it  is  a  crime,  a  terrible  bloody 
crime ;  when  honor  is  buried  all  we  shall  have  to  leave  to 
our  descendants  is  disgrace,  an  everlasting  disgrace 
which  even  time  will  not  efface.  Awake,  you  sons  of 
Russia,  you  representatives  of  the  Russian  people,  and 
bestir  yourselves  to  avert  this,  the  greatest  catastrophe ! 

"Sturmer  is  in  negotiation  for  separate  peace. 

"  Stunner  has  betrayed  Russia. 

' '  Sturmer  is  disarranging  supplies  for  our  brave  sons 
and  brothers  in  the  trenches. 

"  Sturmer  is  doing  it  for  German  money.  I  have  here 
a  document  which  shows  every  mark  which  he  received 


38      RUSSIA  FROM  THE  AMERICAN  EMBASSY 

from  Germany  from  July,  1901,  to  July,  1916.  Let  him 
come  and  deny  it,  and,  if  I  am  allowed  to  live  after  this 
(though  I'll  gladly  die  if  honor  lives)  I  will  bring  wit- 
nesses to  prove  the  truth. 

"  Traitors  and  spies  are  amongst  us. 

"No  doubt,  says  Stunner,  separate  peace  will  be  bene- 
ficial to  Russia  when  arranged  by  Sturmer,  but  what  is 
Russia  without  honor?  Rise  up;  dead  Honor!  Arise 
from  thy  Coffin,  and  let  us  see  thee  live !  Come  face  thy 
high  position!  Accuse  him  in  front  of  this  Assembly; 
let  thy  voice  thunder! 

"Yes,  I  am  emotional,  but  where  is  the  man  who  know- 
ing all  this  can  be  cool — can  be  unmoved!  "Why  look! 
There  sits  the  Ambassador  of  an  Allied  Country,  the 
coldest  and  calmest,  and  yet,  though  he  follows  me  with 
difficulty,  he  is  pale,  he  is  perturbed. 

"I  am  cool  in  comparison  with  the  crime  with  which 
I  am  charging  Sturmer.  I  wish  I  were  younger.  I  wish 
the  spirit  of  1905  were  upon  me — it  would  be  practical 
emotion  then.  You  accuse  me  of  shouting,  of  being  mad. 
I  agree ;  but  if  you  are  sane  after  having  heard  what  I 
have  said,  you  also  are  traitors.  All  right.  I  withdraw ; 
it  is  against  the  regulations  to  call  you  traitors;  it  is 
admittedly  heated.  I  know  you  too  well  to  even  think  it 
of  you.  On  the  contrary,  I  am  standing  on  this  Tribune 
only  because  you  are  honest  men  and  true.  You  will  not 
tolerate  these  things,  now  you  know  of  them.  You  will, 
as  I  said  in  the  beginning,  resurrect  dead  honor  and  bring 
gratitude  instead  of  contempt  into  the  hearts  of  our 
children.  Rachel,  we  are  told,  is  crying  for  her  children ; 
if  you  open  your  ears  you  will  hear  a  heartbroken  sob — a 
sob  which  will  fill  you  with  horror.  Do  you  know  who 
is  crying!  Russia!  The  gallant  Russia,  the  brave  Rus- 
sia, the  Mother  of  us  all,  bad  and  good,  is  crying.  Her 
heart  is  breaking.  Are  we  to  help  her — we,  her  sons? 
This  heartens  me.  This  is  the  miracle  I  have  been  work- 
ing for.  The  dead  has  come  back  to  life.  Your  shouts  of 
encouragement  are  its  first  signs  of  life. 

"Now  with  a  live  honor  in  our  midst  we  can  speak 
more  calmly,  we  can  deliberate. 

"As  you  know,  our  agreement  with  our  Allies  does 


39 

not  permit  a  separate  peace — with  one  exception.  This 
exception  should  have  been  known  to  our  statesmen  only, 
but  it  is  known  in  Berlin.  And  Berlin  has  its  friends 
here ;  what  is  easier  therefore  than  to  make  the  exception 
possible. 

"Now  just  take  the  trouble  to  analyze  the  activity  of 
the  Stunner  Ministry  since  its  inception.  What  were  all 
measures  adopted  for?  What  were  they  intended  to  pro- 
duce? The  oppression,  the  disorganization?  What  is 
the  aim  of  all  these  acts?  Dissatisfaction  of  the  masses? 
What  does  such  dissatisfaction  produce?  Revolution! 
Eed,  bloody  revolution!  And  this  is  the  exception  to 
make  separate  peace  possible. 

' '  No,  Berlin  does  not  pay  money  for  nothing !  Stunner 
had  to  earn  it  and  he  did.  He  paved  the  way  for  a  revo- 
lution as  the  means  of  separate  peace.  Must  not  the 
great  Russian  public  be  told  of  this  and  be  warned  to 
suffer  and  be  patient  ?  But  were  it  not  better  to  remove 
the  cause  of  their  suffering,  their  anxiety? 

"  Gentlemen,  this  traitor,  this  German,  must  go.  No 
matter  what  excuse  be  made  for  him.  For  the  sake  of 
honor,  to  reestablish  the  confidence  of  our  Allies, 
Stunner,  nay,  the  whole  German  clique,  must  go. 

11  Just  a  few  words  more,  Gentlemen,  these  are  history- 
making  epochs.  Russia's  hope,  Russia's  life,  is  based 
on  her  alliances ;  these  alliances  depend  on  victory.  The 
Russian  Duma,  though  it  has  no  power,  must  help  to 
achieve  it.  The  people  stand  helpless  awaiting  your  lead, 
you  the  representatives  of  the  people,  are  responsible. 
You  must  act." 

Soon  after  the  meeting  in  which  this  attack  upon 
Stunner  was  made,  I  wrote  Secretary  Lansing  that  in 
my  judgment  the  Government  was  preparing  to  do  two 
things :  one  to  abandon  to  her  fate  her  small  Ally,  Rou- 
mania,  whom  she  had  induced  to  enter  the  war  through 
promises  of  support,  and,  second,  to  make  a  separate 
peace  with  Germany.  I  said  that  I  believed  this  had  been 
the  underground  plan  of  the  Ministry  ever  since  Stunner 
became  Prime  Minister  in  July,  and  knowledge  of  these 


40      RUSSIA  FROM  THE  AMERICAN  EMBASSY 

plans  or  plots  reaching  the  Duma  had  caused  the  out- 
breaks of  wrathful  denunciation. 

Attacks  such  as  Miliukoff's  upon  the  Prime  Minister, 
instead  of  causing  the  Emperor  to  prorogue  the  Duma, 
as  would  have  been  the  case  a  few  years  earlier,  led  him 
to  dismiss  Stunner,  who  quickly  disappeared  into  igno- 
minious oblivion.  He  later  died  in  prison  in  the  Saint 
Peter  and  Paul  Fortress,  and  his  wife  after  an  attempt 
to  cut  her  throat  is  now  in  the  insane  asylum. 

While  the  removal  of  Stunner  temporarily  allayed  pub- 
lic indignation,  the  appointment  of  M.  Trepoff  as 
his  successor  was  not  reassuring.  Trepoff,  although 
opposed  to  a  separate  peace,  was  also  a  reactionary  and 
was  not  satisfactory  to  the  Duma.  He  was,  moreover,  a 
!  man  with  deep  convictions  and  iron  nerve,  and  on  that 
'  account  more  dangerous  than  Stunner,  who  was  venal 
and  with  neither  convictions  nor  strength.  As  I  said  at 
the  time  of  his  appointment  Trepoff  was  a  man  who 
would  not  hesitate  to  demand  that  the  Emperor  dissolve 
the  Duma  if  that  body  opposed  him,  and  such  action 
could  hardly  fail  to  result  very  seriously. 

On  November  18th,  shortly  after  Stunner's  dismissal 
and  Trepoff's  appointment,  I  attended  a  turbulent  and 
stirring  session  of  the  Duma.  I  was  the  only  Ambas- 
sador in  the  diplomatic  loge  when  the  President  called 
the  meeting  to  order,  but  a  few  minutes  later  was  joined 
by  the  Italian,  British  and  French  Ambassadors  suc- 
cessively. After  a  few  remarks  by  the  President,  Pre- 
mier Trepoff  was  introduced,  advanced  to  the  Tribune 
'  and  tried  to  read  a  written  speech.  His  voice  was  inau- 
dible amid  the  taunts,  shouts,  clapping  and  stamping 
from  the  "Left."  Three  times  he  returned  to  the  Trib- 
une from  his  seat  in  the  space  at  the  right  of  the  Presi- 
dent, reserved  for  the  Ministry.  The  President  used 
a  bell  in  his  efforts  to  keep  order  instead  of  a  mallet 


TREASON  IN  HIGH  PLACES  41 

as  in  other  deliberative  assemblies.  Three  times  the 
Premier's  efforts  to  be  heard  were  drowned  in  the 
uproar.  Finally  after  the  expulsion  of  a  half  dozen  of 
the  most  obstreperous  disturbers,  he  got  a  hearing,  read 
his  address,  and  received  perfunctory  applause.  He 
denied  that  Eussia  had  sought  a  separate  peace,  and 
said  that  no  peace  would  be  concluded  that  did  not  give 
Russia  control  of  the  Dardenelles  and  added  that  Rus- 
sia's Allies  had  agreed  to  this.  At  this  point  a  number 
of  the  members  looked  curiously  toward  Sir  George 
Buchanan,  the  British  Ambassador,  who  sat  next  to  me, 
but  his  expression  showed  no  trace  of  dissent. 

Several  speakers  followed  the  Premier,  but  the  speech 
of  General  Purishkevich  was  the  only  one  which  created 
a  sensation.  The  General  had  been  well  known  as  an 
ultraconservative — a  member  of  the  " Right"  and  joined 
the  "Left."  He  made  specific  charges  that  German 
influence  had  permeated  not  only  Court  and  military 
circles,  but  banking  and  commercial  affairs  also.  He 
accused  some  of  the  Russian  Generals  with  inefficiency 
and  indifference,  if  not  actual  treachery.  He  cited  one 
General  in  particular  who  had  used  freight  cars  to  trans- 
port mineral  waters  to  his  headquarters  which  should 
have  been  used  to  haul  munitions  and  soldiers  to  Rou- 
mania — Russia's  small  and  sorely  pressed  Ally.  He 
made  other  definite  charges  against  the  army,  of  which 
he  claimed  to  have  documentary  evidence  and  stepping 
to  the  Ministerial  Bench  he  handed  the  Minister  of  "War 
a  document.  He  was  merciless  in  his  criticism  of  the 
Ministry,  saying  that  the  Minister  and  Duma  could  not 
work  together — one  or  the  other  must  go.  He  singled 
out  Minister  of  the  Interior  Protopopoff  for  his  bitterest 
denunciation.  Protopopoff  had  not  stayed  to  hear  what 
the  General  had  to  say  about  him. 

He  told  of  a  movement  to  start  a  daily  newspaper  in 


42      RUSSIA  FROM  THE  AMERICAN  EMBASSY 

Petrograd  which  should  be  Tinder  German  influence  and 
should  advocate  a  separate  peace  between  Russia  and 
the  Central  Empires.  He  charged  that  ten  prominent 
banks  in  Russia  had  agreed  to  subscribe  500,000  roubles, 
each,  to  this  paper,  but  that  seven  of  them  on  learning  its 
real  purpose  had  withdrawn  their  support.  The  three 
that  remained  were  the  International  Bank  of  Commerce, 
the  Russian  Bank  of  Foreign  Trade  and  the  Azoff-Don 
Bank.  He  stated  that  of  the  assets  of  the  Russian  Bank 
of  Foreign  Trade  of  70,000,000  roubles  only  20,000,000 
was  Russian  capital,  the  remaining  50,000,000  being  Ger- 
man. Further  he  said  that  of  the  170,000,000  roubles 
representing  the  combined  capital  of  the  three  banks, 
50,000,000  only  was  Russian,  the  rest,  or  120,000,000, 
being  German. 

When  General  Purishkevich  took  his  seat  he  received 
a  great  demonstration  of  approval  both  from  the  mem- 
bers and  from  the  spectators  in  the  galleries. 

On  December  17th,  O.S.  1916,  all  Russia  was  stirred 
by  the  report  of  the  murder  of  Rasputin,  the  monk,  who 
had  exercised  such  a  dominant  influence  over  the  royal 
family,  particularly  the  Czarina,  In  January  I  wrote 
Counselor  Polk  a  personal  letter  in  which  I  gave  him 
the  most  authentic  version  I  could  then  obtain  of  the 
murder.  I  said: 

"I  have  heard  some  of  the  particulars  from  a  very 
authentic  source  concerning  the  killing  of  Rasputin — the 
monk  or  pretender  who  was  killed  because  he  was  sup- 
posed to  have  too  much  influence  with  the  Empress  and 
was  bringing  disgrace  on  the  royal  family.  You  have 
no  doubt  read  in  the  public  prints  of  this  man.  He  was 
uneducated  and  untidy  in  his  dress,  but  had  a  wonderful 
eye  and  hypnotic  influence.  He  undoubtedly  had  access 
to  the  Empress  at  all  hours  and  through  her  was  very 
potential  with  the  Emperor.  Consequently  his  assistance 


TREASON  IN  HIGH  PLACES  43 

was  sought  by  all  aspiring  to  power  and  position.  He 
was  a  man  of  extraordinary  if  not  unprecedented  sexual 
passions.  He  was  very  human  in  other  regards,  having 
an  appetite  for  liquor  and  rich  food,  notwithstanding 
his  obscure  origin. 

' '  On  the  night  of  the  tragedy  he  was  sent  for  to  come  to 
the  house  of  Prince  Usoupoff,  a  fine  palace  on  the  Moika. 
It  appears  there  had  been  a  dinner  at  this  house  attended 
by  Eussian  ladies,  who,  however,  had  taken  their  depar- 
ture before  Rasputin  arrived.  After  considerable  drink- 
ing Rasputin  began  to  boast  of  his  power,  claiming  to 
have  influenced  a  number  of  appointments  to  official  posi- 
tions, and  even  asserted  that  he  had  illicit  intercourse 
with  many  women  of  high  position,  calling  them  by 
names.  He  went  so  far  as  to  say  that  his  next  mistress 
would  be  a  well-known  young  Grand  Duchess  of  the  royal 
family  whose  character  is  above  reproach  and  who  is 
very  well  thought  of  by  all  classes  in  Russia.  When  he 
made  that  statement,  it  is  said  that  the  host,  Prince 
Usoupoff,  drew  his  pistol  and  laid  it  down  on  the  table 
in  front  of  Rasputin,  and  told  him  that  after  making  such 
a  statement  it  was  time  for  him  to  kill  himself.  Rasputin 
grasped  the  pistol  but  instead  of  firing  it  at  himself,  shot 
at  Usoupoff,  whom  he  fortunately  missed,  the  bullet 
going  through  a  door  and  attracting  the  attention  of  the 
police  on  the  outside.  The  other  members  of  the  party 
then  drew  their  weapons  and  began  to  fire  at  Rasputin, 
who  tried  to  leave  the  room.  The  young  noblemen  con- 
tinued to  fire  and  Rasputin  fell  to  the  floor  just  before 
reaching  the  door,  having  been  shot  three  times  through 
the  back.  No  one  knows  who  fired  the  fatal  shots — in 
fact  it  is  said  that  none  of  those  present  admitted  having 
fired  at  all.  My  information,  however,  is  from  a  source 
which  is  said  to  be  very  reliable.  Prince  Demitry,  a  son 
of  a  Grand  Uncle  of  the  Emperor,  and  Prince  Usoupoff, 


44     RUSSIA  FROM  THE  AMERICAN  EMBASSY 

the  son  of  one  of  the  richest  if  not  the  richest  nobleman 
in  Russia,  and  General  Pnrishkevich  are  generally 
thought  to  have  been  the  only  ones  present.  After  Ras- 
putin was  killed  an  automobile  was  sent  for,  driven  by 
the  owner,  another  nobleman,  Count  Pistelcorse,  con- 
nected by  marriage  with  the  Grand  Duke  Paul — the 
Emperor's  uncle.  It  came  to  the  house,  the  body  of 
Rasputin  was  placed  in  it,  and  taken  across  the  Neva  to 
one  of  the  bayous  or  inlets  of  that  river,  where  it  was 
put  through  a  hole  cut  in  the  ice.  The  body  was  dis- 
covered there  in  a  few  days  after  a  thorough  search  by 
the  police,  was  identified  and  taken  to  a  hospital  on  this 
side  of  the  river.  It  is  said  that  the  Empress  went  to  this 
hospital  herself,  had  the  body  removed  to  Tsarskoe-Selo, 
about  twelve  miles  out  of  the  city  limits,  and  that  funeral 
services  were  held  in  the  Emperor's  church  and  the  body 
buried  in  the  grounds  of  the  palace.  It  is  said  to  be 
the  intention  of  the  Empress  to  erect  a  chapel  over  this 
body  and  to  locate  its  altar  immediately  over  the  grave. 
Whether  these  reports  are  true  it  is  difficult  to  say,  but 
at  any  rate  they  are  generally  believed.  Other  accounts 
of  the  killing  of  Rasputin  have  come  to  me  since,  but  I 
do  not  know  that  they  are  any  more  authentic  than  the 
version  given. 

"It  was  thought  for  a  day  or  two  after  Rasputin's 
death  that  nothing  would  be  done  about  it ;  everyone  feel- 
ing that  his  removal  would  be  beneficial  from  every  view- 
point. In  fact  the  Emperor  who  was  at  the  Front  when 
the  killing  occurred  is  said  to  have  been  not  displeased 
when  the  news  reached  him  and  as  especially  talkative 
and  good-humored  when  enroute  from  the  front  to 
Tsarskoe-Selo.  But  in  a  few  days  a  change  came  over  the 
Emperor  concerning  the  punishment  of  those  who  had 
killed  Rasputin.  Meantime  the  Empress  had  herself 
signed  axi  order  for  the  arrest  of  Demitry  and  had  given 


TREASON  IN  HIGH  PLACES  45 

it  to  a  much  beloved  Russian  General  of  advanced  years 
whose  name  I  don't  recall.  When  the  General  presented 
the  order  of  arrest  to  Demitry,  the  latter  said  he  was  a 
member  of  the  royal  family  and  no  one  could  order  his 
arrest  except  the  Emperor  himself.  Thereupon  the  old 
General  said,  'If  you  don't  observe  this  it  will  be  the 
cause  of  my  downfall,  and  I  appeal  to  you  through  per- 
sonal consideration  for  me  to  consider  yourself  a  pris- 
oner in  your  own  house/  to  which  Demitry  consented. 
About  two  days  after  the  Emperor's  arrival,  he  ordered 
Demitry  to  military  service  in  Persia  and  is  said  to  have 
prohibited  his  return  to  Petrograd  for  a  period  of  twelve 
years.  He  banished  Usoupoff  to  his  estates  somewhere 
in  Southern  Russia.  Purishkevich,  a  General  in  the 
Army,  and  the  same  who  had  made  the  bitter  speech  in 
the  Duma  against  Protopopoff,  had  assembled  a  trainload 
of  supplies  for  the  relief  of  the  Russian  wounded  which 
was  waiting  for  him  on  a  side-track  in  the  suburbs  of 
Petrograd.  He  joined  it  about  daylight  and  went  to  the 
front  where  he  is  supposed  to  be  now,  distributing  the 
supplies.  It  is  probable,  however,  that  some  punishment 
has  been  inflicted  upon  him. 

* '  On  January  1st,  all  the  members  of  the  royal  family, 
including  many  Grand  Dukes  and  Grand  Duchesses, 
united  in  a  'round  robin'  to  the  Emperor,  asking  his 
clemency  for  Demitry  on  the  ground  that  his  health  is 
broken  and  that  Persia  where  he  has  been  ordered  to 
special  service  on  the  staff  of  the  commander  of  the 
Russian  forces  is  a  very  unhealthy  country.  This 
'round  robin'  was  signed  by  the  Empress  Dowager 
who  is  at  Kieff  where  she  has  been  ever  since  my  arrival 
here.  It  is  said  that  she  is  not  permitted  to  return  to 
Petrograd  by  order  of  the  Emperor,  and  while  a  strong 
woman  and  exceedingly  popular  in  Russia,  she  admits 
that  she  has  no  influence  over  her  son  who  seems  to  have 


46      RUSSIA  FROM  THE  AMERICAN  EMBASSY 

been  prejudiced  against  her  by  his  wife,  the  Empress. 
This  *  round-robin '  was  presented  to  the  Emperor  by  the 
Queen  Dowager  of  Greece,  who  lives  in  Petrograd.  The 
Emperor,  however,  was  immovable  and  handed  the  peti- 
tion back  to  the  Queen  Dowager  of  Greece,  after  writing 
on  the  reverse  side  that  he  was  surprised  such  a  petition 
should  be  presented  to  him,  as  he  could  not  permit  so 
heinous  a  crime  to  go  unpunished.  It  is  reported  that 
the  new  count  who  drove  the  automobile  which  conveyed 
Rasputin's  body  from  Usoupoff'o  house  across  the  river 
was  ordered  to  leave  Petrograd  for  two  months ;  that  all 
of  the  signers  of  the  'round  robin'  were  informed  that 
they  would  find  it  beneficial  to  their  health  to  make  a  visit 
of  from  two  to  four  weeks  to  their  respective  country 
places. 

"The  Minister  of  the  Interior,  Protopopoff,  was  said 
to  have  gone  into  a  trance  when  talking  to  the  Empress  a 
short  time  before  the  assassination  and  when  he  re- 
covered himself  to  have  said  in  answer  to  an  inquiry 
that  he  had  communicated  with  Jesus  Christ,  who  had 
told  him  to  follow  the  teachings  of  the  Saint  Rasputin. ' ' 

In  a  letter  to  Frederick  Sterling  who  had  been  Second 
Secretary  of  the  Embassy  when  I  arrived  in  Petrograd, 
and  who  was  a  St.  Louisan,  I  wrote  on  January  8th,  1917 : 

"Not  long  before  this  murder  both  the  Imperial 
Council  and  the  Congress  of  Nobles  had  passed  resolu- 
tions inveighing  against  'the  invisible  influences'  sur- 
rounding the  Government.  The  influences  are  commonly 
referred  to  as  'dark  forces.'  The  Emperor  has  been 
undoubtedly  very  much  provoked  by  all  these  hostile 
demonstrations,  and  in  his  appointment  of  reactionaries 
is  showing  a  defiant  attitude.  Trepoff  has  resigned  as 
Premier,  and  is  said  to  have  told  the  Emperor  that  he 
would  not  serve  longer  with  Protopopoff.  His  resigna- 
tion was  accepted  after  an  interval  of  about  two  weeks. 


TREASON  IN  HIGH  PLACES  47 

IgnatiefF,  Minister  of  Education,  and  Brobinsky,  Minis- 
ter of  Agriculture,  have  also  both  resigned  for  the  same 
reason — namely,  hostility  to  Protopopoff.  Prince  Golit- 
zin  has  been  appointed  to  succeed  Trepoff  as  Premier. 
He  is  a  reactionary  and  is  said  to  have  been  appointed 
through  the  influence  of  the  Empress.  He  has  had  charge 
of  her  charities  and  relief  work.  Last  Sunday,  which 
was  the  Eussian  New  Year's  Day,  Bodzianko,  the  Presi- 
dent of  the  Duma,  refused  to  shake  Protopopoff 's  hand 
and  told  him  that  he  desired  to  have  no  relations  with 
him  at  any  time  or  place.  Protopopoff  retorted,  'If  that 
is  the  case  I  will  send  you  a  challenge!'  Bodzianko 
turned  on  his  heel  with  the  remark,  'I  hear  you.'  Noth- 
ing has  come  of  it  however. ' ' 

In  a  letter  to  Mrs.  Francis,  January  15th,  1917,  New 
Style,  I  wrote : 

"It  has  long  been  the  custom  in  Bussia  for  the  Emperor 
to  receive  the  Diplomatic  Corps  on  the  Bussian  New 
Year's  Day,  which  is  our  January  14th.  There  was  no 
reception  January  14th,  1916,  because  the  Emperor  was 
at  the  front.  It  was  generally  understood  there  would  be 
no  reception  this  year,  but  the  Embassy  was  notified  by 
the  Master  of  Ceremonies  January  10th  that  the  Em- 
peror would  receive  the  Diplomatic  Corps  at  4  p.m.,  Janu- 
ary lst-14th  at  Tsarskoe-Selo,  and  that  a  special  train 
would  be  provided  for  them  leaving  Petrograd  at  2:35 
p.m.,  and  leaving  Tsarskoe-Selo  for  the  return  at  5:30 
p.m.  I  was  in  Moscow  when  this  notice  was  received,  and 
Counselor  "Wright  was  requested  by  the  Master  of  Cere- 
monies to  wire  me  and  state  that  it  was  expressly  desired 
that  I  should  be  present  at  the  reception. 

"Accompanied  by  my  staff  I  left  Petrograd  on  the  spe- 
cial train  at  2:35  p.m.,  arriving  at  Tsarskoe-Selo  about 
thirty  minutes  later.  Each  Ambassador  was  conveyed 
from  the  station  to  the  castle,  a  distance  of  about  one 


48      RUSSIA  FROM  THE  AMERICAN  EMBASSY 

verst  or  two-thirds  of  a  mile,  in  a  separate  carriage ;  the 
Ministers  and  Staffs  of  the  Embassies  and  Legations 
followed  in  carriages  and  sleighs  loaded  to  their  respec- 
tive capacities.  Upon  arrival  at  the  castle  the  Diplo- 
matic Corps  was  conducted  to  a  large  room  about  120 
feet  long  and  about  40  feet  wide,  richly  furnished  in  gold 
and  red  and  lighted  by  hundreds  of  electric  lamps.  "When 
all  were  assembled  each  head  of  a  mission  took  position 
in  his  proper  order,  accompanied  by  his  staff,  who  stood 
two  paces  in  the  rear.  A  few  minutes  later  the  Emperor 
entered,  accompanied  by  the  Grand  Master  of  Ceremo- 
nies and  by  the  Marshal  of  the  Court  and  also  by  twenty 
or  thirty  members  of  His  Court.  The  Emperor  advanced 
first  to  the  British  Ambassador,  whom  he  engaged  in 
conversation  for  five  or  six  minutes.  The  Ambassador 
read  a  paper  to  His  Majesty,  the  contents  of  which  were 
not  made  known  to  the  other  missions.  The  conversation 
between  the  Emperor  and  the  Ambassador  was  not 
audible  more  than  three  or  four  feet  away.  I  have  not 
learned  the  contents  of  the  paper  read  by  Sir  George 
Buchanan,  but  conclude  that  as  I  was  not  consulted  that 
the  Ambassador  did  not  presume  to  speak  for  my  Govern- 
ment. At  the  end  of  the  conversation  between  the  Em- 
peror and  the  Ambassador,  the  suite  of  the  British 
Embassy,  consisting  of  about  fifteen  men,  were  presented 
to  the  Emperor,  each  man  shaking  hands  with  His  Maj- 
esty. After  a  few  words  addressed  by  the  Emperor 
to  the  members  of  his  suite,  His  Majesty  advanced  to 
the  Italian  Ambassador  where  the  same  proceedings  were 
enacted ;  the  Italian  Ambassador,  however,  did  not  have 
any  paper  in  his  hand  and  the  conversation  appeared  to 
be  of  an  informal  character.  The  Emperor  next  ad- 
vanced to  the  French  Ambassador,  with  whom  he  held 
converse tion  in  an  undertone  for  a  few  minutes  and  then 


TREASON  IN  HIGH  PLACES  49 

the  members  of  the  French  suite  were  presented — they 
were  nine  in  number. 

' '  The  Emperor  then  advanced  to  myself  and  after  shak- 
ing hands  cordially  recalled  my  presentation  to  him  last 
May.  I  remarked  that  I  had  learned  a  great  deal  more 
about  his  country  and  his  people  than  I  knew  when  I 
saw  him  last  and  had  found  much  in  both  to  admire  and 
much  to  interest  me.  He  expressed  gratification,  talking 
all  the  time  in  excellent  English  (I  think  his  conversation 
with  the  Italian  and  French  Ambassador  and  the  Spanish 
Ambassador  and,  perhaps,  with  all  of  the  other  heads  of 
the  missions  except  Sir  George  Buchanan  and  myself 
was  in  French)  and  when  I  said  to  him  that  I  had  been 
endeavoring  to  promote  closer  relations  between  Russia 
and  America  he  smilingly  and  responsively  replied :  'Yes, 
I  have  heard  of  your  actions  in  that  line  and  think  con- 
siderable progress  has  been  made.'  After  a  few  more 
words  of  casual  conversation  and  with  sincere  expres- 
sion by  me  of  New  Year's  Greetings,  I  presented  the 
nine  members  of  my  Staff  to  His  Majesty  and  took  occa- 
sion to  say  some  word  of  commendation  or  explanation 
about  each  member.  We  were  all  impressed  with  the 
cordiality  of  His  Majesty's  manner,  by  his  poise  and  his 
apparent  excellent  physical  condition,  as  well  as  by  the 
promptness  of  his  utterances.  After  leaving  the  Ameri- 
can Embassy,  the  Emperor  next  conversed  with  the 
Spanish  Ambassador  and  then  with  the  heads  of  all  of 
the  other  missions,  ending  his  very  trying  ordeal,  which 
occupied  about  an  hour  and  twenty  minutes,  in  a  talk  with 
the  Charge  d' Affaires  of  the  Japanese  Embassy.  The 
Emperor  was  attired  in  a  Cossack  uniform,  with  an 
overcoat  extending  to  within  a  few  inches  of  his  ankles. 
He  is  a  man  of  medium  stature  and  gave  appearance  of 
having  supreme  confidence  in  himself.  During  this  hour 
and  twenty  minutes  the  members  of  the  Diplomatic  Corps 


I 


50      RUSSIA  FROM  THE  AMERICAN  EMBASSY 

all  retained  the  positions  to  which,  they  were  first 
assigned.  The  Emperor  after  leaving  the  Japanese 
Embassy,  proceeded  to  the  door  and,  turning  with  a 
dignified  and  graceful  bow,  saluted  the  entire  Diplomatic 
Corps  and  then  took  his  departure,  accompanied  by  his 
suite. 

"  The  Diplomatic  Corps  numbered  over  eighty  persons ; 
the  chief  of  every  mission  was  in  uniform  except  the 
American ;  seven  members  of  the  American  mission  were 
in  full  dress  suits  with  white  vest,  white  tie  and  white 
gloves — the  two  Naval  Attaches  and  the  Military  Attache 
were,  of  course,  in  their  dress  uniforms.  After  a  light 
luncheon  we  were  driven  from  the  castle  to  the  station 
in  the  same  order  and  in  the  same  vehicle  that  conveyed 
us  from  the  station.  The  special  train  arrived  in  Petro- 
grad  at  the  Imperial  Station  a  few  minutes  after  six 
o  'clock. 

"This  entire  ceremony  was  very  impressive.  The  scene 
in  the  magnificent  room  was  brilliant  indeed.  The 
Emperor  appeared  to  me  as  taking  advantage  of  the 
occasion  to  impress  his  royal  personality  upon  all 
present. 

"On  the  same  day  the  Emperor  announced  the  new 
members  of  the  Imperial  Council;  the  names  of  these 
members  are  said  to  be  nearly  or  quite  all  those  of  Reac- 
tionaries. If  so,  that  is  but  another  indication  that  His 
Majesty  is  not  yielding  in  the  slightest  degree  to  the 
liberal  sentiment  which  expressions  in  the  Duma  and  in 
the  Imperial  Council  during  the  past  month,  indicate  has 
been  spreading  throughout  the  Empire." 

Little  did  any  of  us  who  were  present  at  this  reception 
know  that  we  were  witnessing  the  last  public  appearance 
of  the  last  ruler  of  the  mighty  Romanoff  dynasty.  And 
as  I  look  back  on  it  I  am  convinced  that  just  as  little  did 
the  central  figure,  the  Czar  gf  £ll  the  Russians,  realize 


TREASON  IN  HIGH  PLACES  51 

that  within  sixty  days  he  would  be  compelled  to  abdicate 
the  throne  of  his  ancestors.  In  fact  he  made  the  im- 
pression upon  me  and  upon  every  member  of  my  staff 
that  he  was  more  at  his  ease  and  felt  more  secure  in  his 
position  than  he  did  when  I  presented  to  him.  seven 
months  earlier  my  letters  from  the  President  of  the 
United  States.  This  complacent  monarch  had  no  pre- 
monition of  the  storm  that  was  brewing.  This  weak 
ruler  had  no  idea  that  he  was  standing  on  a  volcano 
whose  eruption  within  seven  short  months  was  to  bury 
himself  and  his  dynasty. 


CHAPTER   IV 
RUMBLINGS  OF  REVOLUTION 

ON  December  23rd,  1916,  I  delivered  to  Foreign  Min- 
ister Pokrovski  President  Wilson's  communication  to 
each  of  the  Belligerents  requesting  them  to  state  the 
terms  upon  which  they  would  be  willing  to  make  peace 
and  stop  the  terrible  slaughter.  A  few  days  before  I  had 
delivered  to  the  Minister  the  overtures  for  peace  of  the 
Central  Powers  which  I  had  received  from  the  State  De- 
partment. These  I  handed  him  without  comment.  I  had 
told  Minister  Pokrovski  at  that  time,  however,  that  I 
would  shortly  present  to  him  a  communication  from  the 
President  of  the  United  States,  but  that  such  message  not 
only  was  not  inspired  by  the  note  of  the  Central  Empires, 
but  was  being  prepared  before  it  was  known  that  the 
Central  Powers  were  to  make  any  overtures.  I  read  the 
President's  note  to  the  Minister  and  then  delivered  the 
original  to  him. 

Almost  exactly  a  month  later  I  delivered  to  the  Foreign 
Minister  a  copy  of  President  Wilson's  speech  to  the 
Senate  in  which  he  outlined  the  terms  and  conditions 
under  which  the  United  States  might  be  willing  to  join 
with  the  other  Powers  for  the  preservation  of  the  peace 
of  the  world  after  the  close  of  the  war — the  celebrated 
fourteen  points.  The  reaction  to  this  message  at  the 
time  can  perhaps  best  be  suggested  by  giving  here  an 
account  of  a  dinner  given  to  some  of  my  colleagues  of 
the  Diplomatic  Corps  representing  the  Neutral  countries 
and  sent  to  the  Secretary  immediately  afterwards.  I 

said: 

52 


RUMBLINGS  OF  REVOLUTION  53 

"I  gave  a  dinner  in  the  Embassy  last  evening  which 
was  attended  by  the  Ministers  of  Sweden,  Norway,  Den- 
mark, Holland,  China,  Siam  and  Serbia.  There  were 
eighteen  plates  but  only  six  ladies  as  most  of  the  mem- 
bers of  the  Diplomatic  Corps  are  either  unmarried  or 
unaccompanied  by  their  wives.  The  general  subject  of 
discussion  was  the  President's  message  as  I  anticipated 
it  would  be.  It  is  not  surprising  that  the  representatives 
of  these  smaller  countries  should  be  in  entire  sympathy 
with  the  President's  desires,  but  all  of  them  expressed 
doubt  and  fear  lest  his  views  might  be  so  impractical  as 
to  prevent  their  being  put  into  operation.  I  told  them 
that  they  should  bear  in  mind  that  this  utterance  of  the 
President  of  the  United  States  was  not  addressed  to  the 
Belligerents  nor  to  the  Neutrals,  but  to  that  branch  of 
his  own  Government  to  which,  in  connection  with  himself, 
was  entrusted  the  direction  of  our  foreign  relations ;  that 
the  message  gave  the  conclusions  of  the  President  after 
mature  deliberation  as  to  the  kind  of  a  peace  which  in  his 
judgment  would  prove  lasting  and  for  the  preservation 
of  which  he  would  be  willing  to  see  our  Government  enter 
into  a  League  with  other  nations.  I  reminded  them  that 
no  revolution  in  the  history  of  the  world  and  in  fact  no 
reform  had  ever  been  broached  or  agitated  or  consum- 
mated that  had  not  been  the  result  of  a  moral  conviction 
in  the  minds  and  hearts  of  men  and  that  invariably  the 
first  expression  of  such  conviction  had  appeared  to  the 
supporters  of  the  'old  order'  as  a  Utopian  dream  which 
society  was  unprepared  to  put  into  effect  and  that  in 
most  instances  those  advocating  such  changes  had  been 
charged  with  insincerity  and  accused  of  being  moved  by 
selfish  objects.  Of  course,  there  were  no  speeches  at  this 
dinner  and  this  conversation  was  a  mutual  interchange 
of  views  concerning  the  President's  message  and  its 
bearing  upon  conditions  which  are  unprecedented  in  the 
world's  history.  Every  one  of  these  ministers  was 
prompt  to  avow  his  belief  in  the  purity  and  unselfishness 
of  the  President's  motives,  while  expressing  the  fear 
that  his  plan  for  peace  would  not  be  realized  in  connec- 
tion with  the  end  of  the  present  war. 

"The  criticism  of  the  President's  message  most  fre- 


54      RUSSIA  FROM  THE  AMERICAN  EMBASSY 

quently  heard  is  of  that  expression  that  a  peace  based 
on  victory  of  either  side  will  not  be  a  lasting  peace. 
While  admitting  that  a  cessation  of  hostilities  as  the 
result  of  a  war  of  conquest  would  result  in  a  peace  char- 
acterized by  bitterness  and  resentment,  the  general  feel- 
ing seems  to  be  that  Germany  merits  punishment  and 
should  be  taught  a  lesson  for  the  violation  of  her  agree- 
ments and  because  of  the  policy  which  has  characterized 
her  prosecution  of  the  war,  which  it  is  charged  has  been 
in  defiance  of  all  international  law  and  of  all  of  the 
instincts  of  civilized  society." 

Discussion  of  this  speech  was,  however,  soon  termi- 
nated by  our  breaking  off  of  diplomatic  relations  with 
Germany  on  February  4th.  I  gave  a  statement  to  the 
newspapers  concerning  our  rupture  of  diplomatic  rela- 
tions with  Germany  immediately  after  the  receipt  of  a 
cable  from  the  State  Department  officially  informing  me 
of  the  act.  This  was  necessary  in  order  to  give  the  Rus- 
sian people  a  clear  idea  of  what  the  United  States  had 
done.  Otherwise  they  would  have  thought  we  had  de- 
clared war.  In  a  letter  to  Secretary  Lansing  written  at 
this  time,  I  said: 

"The  Russians  are  very  much  pleased  with  the  stand 
we  have  taken  and  are  already  beginning  to  treat  us  as 
Allies.  The  French  are  delighted  also  and  according  to 
telegraphic  reports  there  have  been  demonstrations  of 
an  enthusiastic  nature  in  Paris. 

"I  don't  like  the  position  of  England,  or  rather  that 
of  the  British  Embassy  here.  Neither  the  British  Ambas- 
sador nor  the  French  nor  the  Italian  has  called  nor  have 
I  met  any  one  of  them  since  Bernstorf?  was  given  his 
passports — it  seemed  to  me  that  it  would  not  have  been 
improper  for  those  Ambassadors  to  call  and  express 
gratification  at  least  .that  our  diplomatic  relations  with 
the  arch-enemy  of  their  countries  had  been  severed.  The 
Belgian  Minister,  deBuisseret,  did  call  and  expressed 


RUMBLINGS  OF  REVOLUTION  55 

himself  as  being  much  pleased  with  the  stand  we  had 
taken.  The  Siamese  Minister  called  yesterday  and  stated 
that  his  Government  had  instructed  him  to  ascertain  what 
reply  the  Neutral  countries  had  made  or  would  make  to 
the  suggestion  of  President  Wilson  that  they  take  similar 
action  to  ours.  I  told  him  that  no  official  information  had 
been  received  on  the  subject,  and  all  I  knew  concerning  it 
was  what  had  appeared  in  the  public  prints.  He  told  me 
he  had  called  upon  me  first,  but  proposed  to  call  upon  the 
Ministers  of  the  other  neutral  countries,  and  that  when 
he  left  the  Embassy  he  would  go  to  the  Norwegian  Lega- 
tion. I  requested  him  to  telephone  me  the  result  of  his 
conference  with  Minister  Prebensen,  which  he  did  later 
and  informed  me  that  the  Scandinavian  countries  had 
come  to  no  conclusion  other  than  an  agreement  to  confer 
and  make  a  joint  reply.  Meantime  I  had  telephoned  to 
the  Chinese  Minister  and  called  at  his  -Legation  where 
he  informed  me  of  the  action  by  his  government.  (China 
had  followed  President  Wilson's  advice  and  also  severed 
diplomatic  relations  with  Germany.)  He  seemed  very 
much  pleased  and  I  was  exceedingly  so.  I  informed  the 
Siamese  Minister  of  the  action  taken  by  China  and 
strongly  urged  him  to  recommend  his  government  to  do 
likewise — he  virtually  promised  to  do  so." 

It  is  the  practise  in  the  diplomatic  service  for  all 
Ambassadors  and  Ministers  to  submit  their  resignations 
at  the  close  of  a  Presidential  term.  Accordingly  on  Feb- 
ruary 25th,  I  cabled  mine  to  the  President  paraphrased 
in  the  following  terms : 

"Understand  that  it  is  customary  for  Ambassadors  to 
tender  their  resignations  at  the  beginning  of  a  new  term. 
Mine  is  herewith  presented.  Am  thoroughly  reconciled 
to  return  or  perfectly  willing  to  remain,  or  would  cheer- 
fully serve  in  any  position  where  you  thought  I  could  bo 
more  effective.  In  this  critical  juncture  personal  inte- 


56      RUSSIA  FROM  THE  AMERICAN  EMBASSY 

rests     and    inclinations     should    be     subordinated     to 
country's  welfare." 

I  also  requested  that  if  agreeable  to  the  President  it 
be  published  in  the  American  papers.  My  object  in 
desiring  its  publication  was  to  indicate  that  I  had  no 
sympathy  with  the  obstructionists  in  the  United  States 
who  were  seeking  to  keep  us  out  of  a  just  and  inevitable 
war — particularly  did  I  wish  it  understood  that  I  entirely 
disagreed  with  Senator  Stone  of  Missouri,  my  own  State. 
In  this  connection,  I  might  say  that  after  I  had  served 
five  months  in  Russia  and  had  established  not  only  pleas- 
ant, but  friendly  relations  with  the  Russian  Government, 
I  was  told  by  some  of  my  friends  among  the  Russian 
officials  that  I  had  originally  been  supposed  to  be  pro- 
German  in  my  sympathies  and  that  my  appointment  was 
thought  to  have  been  brought  about  by  pro-German  influ- 
ences in  America.  This  rumor  was  strengthened  by  my 
hailing  from  St.  Louis,  where  the  German  element  was 
supposed  to  predominate. 

On  March  9th  there  had  just  occurred  several  demon- 
strations of  dissatisfaction  by  the  working  people,  espe- 
cially the  women.  These  were  caused  by  the  ever-in- 
creasing difficulty  in  getting  food.  Long  bread  lines  were 
constantly  seen,  one  of  them  being  just  across  the  street 
from  the  Embassy;  the  women  formed  these  at  four  or 
five  o'clock  in  the  morning  and  sometimes  waited  for 
hours  with  the  thermometer  8  or  10  degrees  below  zero, 
and  then  on  reaching  the  point  of  distribution,  after 
enduring  such  hardships  for  so  long,  they  were  told  there 
was  no  more  bread  or  no  sugar.  That  state  of  affairs 
prevailed  for  several  weeks  when  finally  there  was  no 
more  black  bread  even.  The  women  became  clamorous, 
the  men  refused  to  work  in  the  factories  and  the  inevit- 
able consequence  was  a  congregation  of  boisterous 


RUMBLINGS  OF  REVOLUTION  57 

crowds  on  the  streets  demanding  provisions,  bread,  and 
in  some  instances  crying  for  peace.  An  assemblage  of 
several  thousand  hungry  people  on  a  street  near  the 
Embassy  was  dispersed  by  the  Cossacks,  who  did  not, 
however,  treat  the  people  with  cruelty  or  even  harshly. 
The  city  is  fortunately  separated  into  sections  by  canals 
and  by  the  River  Neva,  upon  each  side  of  which  are  large 
and  compactly  built  areas.  Communication  between 
these  sections  is  by  bridges  only.  On  these  bridges  Cos- 
sacks were  stationed  to  prevent  all  suspicious-looking 
characters  from  crossing.  It  was  suspected  and  charged 
that  this  scarcity  of  food  was  the  result  of  design  on 
the  part  of  some  of  the  members  of  the  Government  in 
order  that  internal  dissensions  might  justify  Russia  in 
concluding  a  separate  peace  with  the  Central  Empires. 
(Under  the  terms  of  Russia's  agreement  with  her  Allies 
she  could  only  enter  into  a  separate  peace  if  obliged  to 
do  so  by  internal  revolutionary  disturbances.)  The  Cos- 
sacks who  had  always  obeyed  the  Emperor's  orders  im- 
plicitly, regardless  of  consequences,  were  said  to  be 
advising  the  people,  while  dispersing  them,  to  demand 
bread  or  the  cessation  of  the  war. 

When  in  the  face  of  these  critical  and  dangerous  condi- 
tions, the  Emperor  prorogued  the  Duma,  instead  of 
enlarging  its  powers  as  he  had  solemnly  promised  his 
apprehensive  Ministry  he  would  do,  one  can  readily 
understand  that  the  effect  was  like  throwing  a  burning 
match  into  a  powder  magazine. 

In  the  midst  of  this  critical  situation  Baron  Uchida, 
Japan's  present  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs,  arrived  in 
Petrograd  as  the  new  Japanese  Ambassador.  Soon  after 
his  arrival  he  called  upon  me  and  I  promptly  returned 
his  call.  I  found  that  he  felt  particularly  friendly  toward 
the  United  States  because  he  had  served  on  the  staff  of 
the  Japanese  Embassy  in  Washington,  while  the  Baron- 


58      RUSSIA  FROM  THE  AMERICAN  EMBASSY 

ess  was  a  graduate  of  Bryn  Mawr  College.  Conse- 
quently our  relations  speedily  became  unusually  close. 
Only  four  days  before  the  outbreak  of  the  March  revolu- 
tion when  the  desultory  street  firing  which  preceded  the 
outbreak  had  actually  begun,  I  gave  a  dinner  at  the 
Embassy  for  the  Baron  and  Baroness  Uchida,  which  was 
the  last  function  of  its  kind  to  be  attended  by  Ministers 
of  the  Russian  Empire. 

When  bidding  my  guests  good  night,  I  expressed  the 
hope  that  they  would  reach  their  homes  safely.  As  they 
departed  they  made  jesting  references  to  the  disturb- 
ances and  were  inclined  to  accept  my  solicitude  about 
their  safety  as  a  conversational  pleasantry. 


CHAPTER  V 

THE  MARCH  REVOLUTION 

THE  gathering  storm  of  Revolution  soon  broke.  The 
American  Embassy  was  in  the  midst  of  the  fighting. 
Many  of  the  chief  encounters  could  be  seen  from  the 
Embassy.  More  could  be  heard. 

In  a  dispatch  to  the  Department,  I  gave  the  following 
description  of  the  situation: 

"As  I  have  written  you  from  time  to  time,  there  has 
been  considerable  unrest  in  Russia  for  the  past  several 
months.  I  cabled  you  about  two  weeks  ago  that  I  had 
asked  for  a  military  gTiard  to  be  placed  at  the  Austrian 
Embassy  which  contains  the  office  of  the  Second  Divi- 
sion of  the  American  Embassy,  and  where  12  or  15  of 
the  Embassy  employees  live.  (We  had  taken  over  the 
Austrian  Embassy  building  when  we  took  over  Aus- 
trian interests  in  Russia.)  Although  the  Foreign  Office 
promised  to  send  the  guard  immediately,  six  days  elapsed 
before  any  guard  made  its  appearance  and  then  only  two 
soldiers  were  sent ;  that  guard  was  increased  to  18  about 
a  week  ago.  The  Austrian  Embassy  is  on  Sergiuskaia 
Street,  which  is  the  next  parallel  street  to  Fourstatdskaia 
Street  on  the  West.  The  Embassy  is,  as  you  know,  at 
No.  34  Fourstatdskaia  and  faces  South;  the  block  is 
perhaps  1,000  to  1,200  feet  long;  the  street  on  the  West  is 
Liteiny,  which  is  about  1,000  feet  distant ;  on  the  East  is 
Voskresensky  which  is  about  200  feet  away.  There  are 
tram  cars  on  both  streets,  but  no  cars  have  been  operat- 
ing for  two  or  three  days.  On  Friday,  March  9th,  crowds 
visited  a  number  of  factories  and  ordered  the  men  to 
stop  work,  which  they  promptly  did.  Yesterday,  Sunday, 
there  were  soldiers  in  the  streets  and  perhaps  50  people 
were  killed  or  wounded,  but  most  of  the  firing  was  with 

59 


60     RUSSIA  FROM  THE  AMERICAN  EMBASSY 

blank  cartridges.  Yesterday  evening  the  order  was  given 
that  no  persons  or  vehicles  should  go  on  the  streets 
to-day.  About  ten  o'clock  this  morning  a  regiment  of 
1,000  to  1,200  men  stationed  in  barracks  about  two  blocks 
from  the  Embassy  mutinied  and,  according  to  reports, 
killed  their  commanding  officer  because  he  would  not 
join  them. 

"At  11:30  a.m.,  Mr.  Miles  phoned  me  from  the  Second 
Division  in  the  Austrian  Embassy  that  some  of  the  muti- 
neers accompanied  by  many  revolutionists  had  visited 
the  munition  factory  adjoining  the  Austrian  Embassy; 
had  killed  the  officer  in  command  there,  and  had  ordered 
the  men  to  quit  work;  that  many  of  the  employees  and 
one  lieutenant  had  come  into  the  Austrian  Embassy, 
crawling  through  the  back  windows  to  seek  protection 
from  the  angry  crowd.  Mr.  Miles  said  that  he  was  at 
the  time  endeavoring  to  prevent  more  employees  from 
entering  the  Embassy  and  fearing  that  the  crowd  might 
learn  that  the  Embassy  was  being  used  as  a  refuge  he 
called  me  up  and  requested  an  additional  guard.  I  tele- 
phoned to  the  Foreign  Office  and  was  assured  that  the 
guard  would  be  strengthened  if  possible,  but  that  it  must 
be  done  by  the  War  Department  or  General  Staff,  with 
which  the  Foreign  Office  would  immediately  communi- 
cate. That  was  the  last  communication  I  had  with  the 
Imperial  Foreign  Office. 

"This  is  written  at  8  p.m.  For  four  or  five  hours 
there  have  been  crowds  on  the  Liteiny  which  is  the  most 
frequented  thoroughfare  in  this  section  of  the  city,  and 
Secretary  Bailey  who  came  to  the  Embassy  from  his 
apartment  at  about  3 :30  p.m.  reported  that  he  had  seen 
four  dead  and  five  wounded  men  lying  on  Liteiny. 
Within  one  hour  thereafter  many  of  the  mutineers 
were  seen  walking  on  Fourstatdskaia  in  front  of 
the  Embassy,  some  with  guns  and  some  without.  There 
also  marched  by  the  Embassy  in  the  roadway  a 
body  of  about  one  hundred  men  in  citizens'  clothes  who 
carried  muskets  but  observed  no  order  of  marching  and 
appeared  to  have  no  commanding  officer.  During  this 
hour,  from  4  to  5  p.m.,  there  also  passed  in  front 
of  the  Embassy  a  number  of  motor  cars  filled  with  sol- 


THE  MARCH  REVOLUTION  61 

diers  with  guns,  but  in  every  car  there  were  some  citizens 
or  men  in  citizens'  clothes  who  were  no  doubt  revolu- 
tionists. About  this  hour  the  Embassy  was  informed  by 
telephone  that  the  Duma  had  been  dissolved  or  pro- 
rogued until  about  the  middle  of  April.  I  heard  later 
that  this  order  was  issued  yesterday  afternoon  but  as 
there  have  been  no  newspapers  for  the  past  two  days  it 
was  not  known  until  the  hour  for  the  Duma's  assemblage, 
and  I  suppose  the  members  were  ignorant  of  it  until  they 
went  to  the  hall  for  the  meeting. 

"At  about  6  p.m.,  Captain  McCully,  the  Naval 
Attache  of  the  Embassy,  who  had  left  for  his  apartment 
about  5,  telephoned  that  in  his  walk  from  the  Embassy 
to  his  apartment,  a  distance  of  over  a  mile,  he  had  seen 
neither  police  nor  soldiers  who  acknowledged  fealty  to 
the  Government,  but  had  passed  a  thousand  or  more 
cavalrymen  riding  quietly  toward  the  Neva  and  aban- 
doning the  streets  of  the  city  to  the  mutineers  and  revo- 
lutionists. About  6:30  p.m.  the  telephone  connection  of 
the  Embassy  was  severed.  Between  7 :30  and  this  writ- 
ing, 9:30  p.m.,  many  rumors  have  come  to  the  Embassy 
through  the  Secretaries  and  other  attaches.  Mr.  Basil 
Miles,  Director  of  the  Second  Division,  took  the  women 
employees  from  the  Austrian  Embassy  to  the  Hotel  de 
France,  where  they  are  quartered  for  the  night.  The 
city  seems  entirely  quiet  but  absolutely  under  the  control 
of  the  soldiers  who  have  mutinied,  and  of  the  revolu- 
tionists. It  is  reported  that  six  regiments  have  joined 
the  revolutionists  and  the  Government  seems  to  have 
abandoned  all  effort  to  curb  the  revolution.  One  rumor 
is  to  the  effect  that  the  Duma,  after  being  dissolved, 
assembled  notwithstanding  the  royal  decree,  and  de- 
clared the  Ministry  deposed  and  made  the  President  of 
the  Duma,  Rodzianko,  the  President  of  the  Council  of 
Ministers.  The  President  of  the  Imperial  Council,  a 
Reactionary,  is  said  to  be  under  arrest.  Another  rumor 
i&  to  the  effect  that  Grand  Duke  Nicholas  has  been  made 
Commander-in-Chief  of  all  the  Russian  forces  to  sup- 
plant the  Emperor.  I  cannot  vouch  for  the  truth  of  any 
of  these  rumors,  but  the  Duma  has  certainly  been  pro- 
rogued until  the  middle  of  April,  and  the  order  to  that 


effect  is  said  to  have  been  signed  by  the  Emperor  several 
days  ago. 

"I  had  a  telephonic  talk  with  Moscow  today  about 
noon  and  Consul-General  Summers  reported  that  every- 
thing was  quiet  in  that  city ;  the  treatment  of  the  Duma, 
however,  will  arouse  every  section  of  the  Empire.  No 
one  can  foretell  what  to-morrow  will  bring  forth.  It  is 
said  that  the  Ministers  of  State  have  all  left  their  respec- 
tive houses  for  fear  the  revolutionists  will  arrest  them. 
One  theory  is  that  the  city  has  been  abandoned  and  will 
be  subjugated  by  being  starved  out. 

"Everything  depends  upon  the  Army.  If  the  Grand 
Duke  Nicholas,  who  is  known  to  be  very  antagonistic  to 
Pro-German  influences,  which  are  said  to  be  dominating 
the  Emperor  through  the  Empress,  should  assume  com- 
mand of  the  Army  it  would  be  very  likely  to  rally  to  his 
appeal.  The  Emperor,  however,  has  many  friends,  and 
it  is  not  likely  that  he  will  yield  without  a  struggle. 

"The  antagonism  to  the  Minister  of  the  Interior, 
Protopopoff,  is  bitter  and  quite  general  as  he  is  charged 
with  being  the  creature  of  Rasputin  and  is  also  suspected 
of  German  sympathy  and  of  having  assisted  in  bringing 
about  the  scarcity  of  food  in  order  that  the  resulting 
unrest  might  justify  Russia  in  making  a  separate  peace. ' ' 

During  this  same  eventful  day  the  Countess  Nostitz, 
who  lives  near  the  Embassy,  called  me  up  and  told  me 
that  an  army  officer  had  just  died  in  the  lazaret  on  the 
first  floor  of  her  house,  having  been  shot  because  he 
refused  to  give  up  his  sword  to  the  revolutionists.  When 
I  put  up  the  receiver  I  ordered  the  "dvornicks"  and 
employees  of  the  Embassy  who  were  standing  on  the 
the  sidewalk  "  rubbering, "  to  come  into  the  house  and 
lock  the  gates. 

At  about  midnight  my  secretary,  Mr.  Johnston,  and  I 
started  out  for  a  walk  to  see  what  was  *  'doing/'  When 
less  than  a  block  from  the  Embassy  door  we  saw  a  group 
of  men  on  an  intersecting  street  and  heard  rifle  shots. 
Concluding  that  a  walk  in  that  direction  would  be  indis- 


THE  MARCH  REVOLUTION  63 

M ; 

creet  we  started  back  toward  the  Embassy.  Just  as  we 
turned  the  corner  we  came  upon  about  fifteen  soldiers 
carrying  guns,  but  not  in  formation  and  evidently  under 
the  influence  of  liquor.  As  we  passed  one  of  them  held 
his  gun  in  very  uncomfortable  proximity  to  my  secre- 
tary's stomach.  We  heard  no  further  disturbances  dur- 
ing the  night.  The  twelve  or  fifteen  members  of  the  staff 
who  lived  in  the  Austrian  Embassy  after  two  or  three 
unsuccessful  attempts  to  reach  that  building,  which  is 
only  three  blocks  away,  decided  to  spend  the  night 
with  us. 

The  next  morning  there  was  still  firing  in  the  streets 
and  many  people  were  killed,  a  few  accidentally.  Many 
citizens,  as  well  as  the  revolutionary  soldiers,  had  arms. 
They  paraded  the  streets  and  when  they  met  an  officer 
demanded  his  sword.  If  he  refused  to  give  it  up  they 
shot  him.  They  showed  a  particularly  unrelenting  hatred 
of  the  police  whom  they  shot  on  sight.  The  Commercial 
Attache's  cook  when  two  blocks  from  the  Embassy  saw 
a  policeman's  head  severed  from  his  body  by  a  saber. 
The  cook  had  hysterics  for  several  hours  afterwards. 
The  police  tried  to  disguise  themselves  in  soldiers'  uni- 
forms and  in  citizens'  clothes.  Some  of  them  placed 
minute  guns  ojo.  the  roofs  of  houses  and  fired  into  the 
crowds  as  they  marched  by.  They  also  fired  into  the 
crowds  from  windows  of  houses  and  even  from  hospitals 
in  which  they  had  hidden.  When  this  happened  soldiers 
and  students  would  raid  the  houses  and  kill  all  the  police 
they  could  catch.  In  some  cases  they  would  lead  them 
out  into  the  street  and  then  shoot  them. 

I  remained  in  the  Embassy  during  the  day.  By  5 :30 
in  the  afternoon  the  shooting  had  become  so  incessant 
and  so  wild  that  for  the  first  time  I  ordered  the  flag 
raised  over  the  building.  The  Italian  Embassy  had 
raised  three  flags  during  the  forenoon.  Just  before  the 


64      RUSSIA  FROM  THE  AMERICAN  EMBASSY 

flag  was  raised  two  soldiers  had  called  at  the  Embassy 
and  asked  if  there  was  an  automobile  in  the  building. 
The  "dvornick"  who  opened  the  door,  replied  that  there 
was  one  but  that  it  was  a  small  one  and  not  a  very  good 
one  (referring  to  my  "Ford"  which  I  had  bought  with 
which  to  go  to  and  from  the  golf  course),  and  he  added 
"This  is  the  American  Embassy. " 

At  that  the  soldiers  replied,  "Why  didn't  you  raise 
your  flag?"  and  went  away.  During  the  day  a  crowd  of 
soldiers  and  citizens  visited  the  French  Embassy  with 
a  band  which  played  the  Marseillaise,  and  one  of  the 
attaches  came  out  and  made  a  non-committal  speech. 

During  all  of  this  time  the  Duma  was  in  session,  having 
refused  to  obey  the  Emperor's  order  to  dissolve.  They 
were  striving  to  organize  a  Provisional  Government. 
From  time  to  time  they  issued  orders  and  manifestoes 
signed  by  the  President  of  the  Duma,  as  Chairman  of 
the  Provisional  Government  Commission.  The  streets 
were  filled  with  bands  of  soldiers  who  in  many  instances 
were  led  by  students  who  as  a  class  were  very  enthu- 
siastic revolutionists. 

During  the  night  the  firing  was  continuous,  some  of  it 
by  mitrailleuse.  A  barricade  was  made  at  the  inter- 
section of  Liteiny  and  Serguiskaia,  a  corner  of  the  block 
in  which  the  American  Embassy  is  located,  and  there 
were  placed  three  cannon  pointing  toward  the  Nevsky 
Prospect — the  most  frequented  avenue  in  Petrograd. 
On  this  day  also  Lieutenant-General  Stackelberg  was 
shot.  He  was  a  veteran  of  the  Russo-Turkish  and  the 
Russo-Japanese  Wars  and  had  served  as  Military 
Attache  with  various  Russian  Embassies.  For  several 
months  he  had  been  the  Military  Commander  of  all  the 
Russian  hospitals  in  Petrograd.  I  had  made  his  acquaint- 
ance in  connection  with  the  exchange  of  a  Gorman  anrl 
an  Austrian  officer.  I  had  seen  him  several  times,  highly 


THE  MAECH  KEVOLUTION  65 

respected  him  and  also  liked  him  very  much.  A  band  of 
soldiers  demanded  admission  to  the  General's  apartment. 
When  the  porter  refused  to  admit  them  they  fired  on  him 
and  killed  him  after  he  had  killed  two  of  them.  The 
General  then  came  to  the  door  with  his  revolver,  and 
after  killing  several  more  of  the  soldiers,  tried  to  escape. 
He  was  killed,  however,  after  eleven  of  his  assailants 
had  fallen.  The  remaining  soldiers  then  mutilated  his 
body,  rode  their  horses  over  it;  and,  according  to  one 
report,  severed  his  head  from  his  body,  put  it  on  a  spike 
and  used  it  as  a  target. 

On  "Wednesday,  the  14th,  the  firing  on  the  streets 
continued  and  desultory  parties  of  from  two  to  a  dozen 
armed  men  wandered  about  without  restraint  of  any 
kind.  They  were  fired  at  from  windows  and  from  house- 
tops as  they  passed,  supposedly  by  policemen,  and  when- 
ever this  occurred  the  bands  would  fire  back  wildly.  The 
Duma  in  the  Tauride  Palace  was  the  place  to  which 
soldiers  and  revolutionists  both  armed  and  unarmed 
reported  and  to  which  they  took  such  prisoners  as  they 
did  not  kill.  Irresponsible  soldiers,  and  citizens  who  had 
taken  arms  from  the  police  or  the  armories,  arrested, 
sometimes  with  and  sometimes  without  orders,  all  the 
Ministers  of  the  Imperial  Government  whom  they  could 
find  except  Pokrovsky,  the  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs, 
and  Grigorovitch,  the  Minister  of  the  Admiralty.  On 
arriving  at  the  Duma  the  captives  were  turned  over  to 
tribunals  which  were  often  self-constituted  and  were 
locked  up  in  rooms  of  the  Palace.  Ex-Premier  Stunner 
was  among  those  captured  and  after  being  confined  for 
some  time  in  the  Palace  was  taken  across  the  Neva  to 
the  prison  of  St.  Peter  and  Paul  Fortress.  The  arch- 
offender,  Minister  of  the  Interior,  Protopopoff,  could  not 
bo  found,  but  finally  went  voluntarily  to  the  Duma  and 
approaching  a  student  said,  "Are  you  a  student?"  On 


receiving  an  affirmative  reply,  he  said,  "I  am  Protopop- 
off  and  I  have  come  to  give  myself  up. ' '  He  was  taken 
before  one  of  the  tribunals  and  had  he  not  been  protected 
would  have  been  killed  on  the  spot.  He  too,  was  confined 
in  the  prison  of  St.  Peter  and  Paul.  Another  hated  char- 
acter, Sokomlinoff,  ex-Minister  of  "War,  was  brought  to 
the  Duma  and  when  the  enraged  soldiers  were  prevented 
from  killing  him  they  demanded  that  he  be  led  down  a 
hall  some  300  feet  long,  so  that  they  might  have  oppor- 
tunity to  tell  him  to  his  face  their  opinion  of  his 
treachery.  He,  too,  was  at  length  locked  up  in  St.  Peter 
and  Paul  Prison.  Many  army  officers  from  Lieutenant- 
Generals  to  Lieutenants  were  also  seized  and  taken  to 
the  Duma,  Among  these  was  General  (Count)  Nostitz, 
a  wealthy  nobleman  whose  wife  is  an  American  and  who 
was  in  the  entourage  of  the  Emperor.  Two  other  high 
Eussian  officers  married  to  American  women,  Prince 
Belloselsky,  who  married  a  Miss  Whitman  of  New  York, 
and  Baron  Ramsai,  whose  wife  was  a  Miss  Whitehouse, 
obeyed  the  summons  of  the  Duma  and  took  the  oath  of 
fealty  to  the  new  Government.  The  number  of  such 
officers  finally  became  so  great  they  could  not  all  get  in 
the  Tauride  Palace,  whereupon  they  were  directed  to  go 
to  the  Officers  Club  on  the  Liteiny,  about  two  blocks  from 
the  Embassy,  and  to  register  their  allegiance. 
As  I  said  in  my  report  to  the  Department: 

"During  the  day,  March  14th,  the  Duma  Commission 
headed  by  its  President,  Rodzianko,  made  considerable 
headway  toward  asserting  its  authority  and  restoring 
order.  That  commission  was  empowered  by  the  Duma 
to  name  a  Ministry,  the  composition  of  which  was 
announced  the  following  day.  The  members  of  that 
Ministry  are  men  of  education,  of  good  records,  some 
of  them  possessed  of  great  wealth,  and  their  selection 
does  great  credit  to  the  judgment  of  the  Commission  by 
which  they  were  chosen. 


67 

"About  midnight,  it  became  known  that  a  body  of 
armed  men,  the  Gens  d'Armes,  who  were  supposed  to  be 
loyal  to  the  Emperor,  were  to  arrive  at  the  Baltic  station 
to  suppress  the  revolution.  Revolutionary  representa- 
tives were  sent  to  the  station  to  meet  them  and  to  per- 
suade them  to  join  the  revolution;  armed  bodies  were 
also  sent  to  the  station  to  resist  the  new-comers  in  the 
event  they  could  not  be  persuaded  or  converted.  Upon 
arrival,  however,  these  supposedly  loyal  men  also  joined 
the  revolution.  It  had  been  reported  during  the  day  that 
the  garrison  at  Tsarskoe-Selo,  the  palace  where  lived 
the  Empress,  her  four  daughters  and  one  son,  had  also 
gone  over  to  the  revolutionary  party.  The  report  proved 
to  be  true,  as  the  Empress  telephoned  to  Eodzianko  and 
asked  for  protection.  At  about  12 :30  at  night  I  walked, 
accompanied  by  my  secretary,  Johnston,  around  two  or 
three  blocks  adjoining  the  Embassy.  We  met  a  body  of 
armed  men,  two  or  three  hundred  in  number,  marching 
quietly  down  Sergiuskaia,  and  apparently  commanded 
by  non-commissioned  officers.  Firing  was  kept  up  dur- 
ing the  night,  but  was  not  so  frequent  as  during  the 
preceding  nights.  As  we  were  returning  to  the  Embassy 
we  were  stopped  by  two  very  alert  soldiers  and  asked 
who  we  were.  Our  reply  appeared  unsatisfactory  and 
they  called  the  non-commissioned  officer  commanding 
them.  Upon  his  approach,  I  advanced  toward  him  and 
pointing  to  myself  said  in  Russian:  '  Amerikanski  Pasol' 
— *  American  Ambassador.'  Thereupon  he  saluted  me, 
motioned  Mr.  Johnston  and  myself  to  proceed  and 
directed  the  two  soldiers  to  pass  on.  In  the  light  of  sub- 
sequent events  I  must  admit  that  these  midnight  walks 
of  Tuesday  and  Wednesday  were  more  reckless  than 
discreet. ' ' 

"  March  15th. 

"  During  this  day  comparative  quiet  prevailed.  The 
abdication  of  the  Emperor  was  authoritatively  an- 
nounced and  his  manifesto  published  in  circular  form 
and  distributed  on  the  streets — no  newspapers  had  been 
published  since  the  morning  of  Saturday,  March  10th. 
Later  in  the  day,  Grand  Duke  Michael,  in  whose  favor 


68      RUSSIA  FROM  THE  AMERICAN  EMBASSY 

the  Emperor  had  abdicated,  was  summoned  to  the  Duma 
and  issued  a  manifesto  accepting  the  authority  trans- 
ferred to  him  on  condition  that  the  people  of  Russia  so 
desired,  and  pledged  himself  that  if  the  people  desired 
it  he  would  exercise  the  functions  of  the  office  under  the 
control  and  advice  of  the  representatives  selected  by  the 
people.  Meantime  several  manifestoes  or  proclamations 
and  some  orders  had  been  issued  by  a  committee  calling 
itself  'Commission  of  Workingmen  and  Soldiers'  Depu- 
ties ' ;  these  publications  were  violent  in  tone  and  tended 
to  alarm  all  law-abiding  citizens,  as  they  advised  the 
soldiers,  of  whom  there  were  thousands  walking  the 
streets,  that  they  were  not  compelled  to  salute  their 
officers  and  that  they  could  by  a  vote  select  their  own 
commanders.  This  commission  is  ,still  professing  or 
attempting  to  exercise  authority  and  is  in  almost  con- 
tinuous session  in  the  Duma  building — in  fact,  they  were 
meeting  in  the  Duma  hall  last  evening  when  I  went  to 
the  Duma  building  unofficially,  accompanied  by  my  secre- 
tary and  colored  valet,  Philip  Jordan.  This  visit  was 
made  incognito,  but  in  order  to  gain  admission  to  the 
building  I  was  compelled  to  reveal  my  identity  to  the 
guard,  and  upon  doing  so  was  shown  every  courtesy.  I 
was  asked  whom  I  wished  to  see  and  although  there  was 
disappointment  when  I  said  'no  one,'  and  it  was  learned 
that  I  was  only  a  sightseer,  there  was  always  a  soldier 
or  student  at  hand  who  spoke  English  and  very  courte- 
ously conducted  me  through  the  building.  This  was  my 
second  visit  to  the  Duma  building.  On  my  first  visit, 
the  large  white  hall,  called  Catherine  Hall,  was  filled 
with  two  regiments  who  were  enroute  from  Siberia  to 
France,  but  who  on  arriving  in  Petrograd  had  joined 
the  revolution.  On  the  second  visit  we  were  conducted 
to  a  door  of  the  Duma  hall  where  we  saw  a  large  audi- 
ence composed  of  soldiers  and  agitators  or  workingmen's 
delegates  listening  to  a  speaker  in  the  Tribune  who  wore 
a  soldier's  uniform." 

"March  16th. 

"On  this  day  there  were  still  a  few  parties  of  armed 
in  'ii  walking  the  streets  and  an  occasional  shot  was  heard 


THE  MAECH  REVOLUTION  69 

but  the  new  Ministry  had  assumed  authority  and  issued 
a  proclamation  appealing  to  the  reason  and  patriotism 
of  the  people  and  calling  upon  them  to  observe  order  and 
support  the  Provisional  Government  which  had  suc- 
ceeded the  detested  Administration  of  the  Imperial 
power  exercised  by  Protopopoff  and  his  hated  police. 
On  this  day  the  new  Ministers  assumed  charge  of  their 
respective  Departments  and  made  some  progress  toward 
administering  the  affairs  of  the  Government,  a  new 
Prefect  of  Police  had  been  appointed  and  was  endeavor- 
ing to  suppress  the  irresponsible  soldiers  and  armed 
civilians  who  had  been  walking  the  streets  for  five  days 
without  restraint.  Eeports  came  to  Petrograd  from  Mos- 
cow, Kieff  and  other  cities  to  the  effect  that  the  authority 
of  the  Provisional  Government  was  being  accepted  and 
its  representatives  installed  without  bloodshed  or  oppo- 
sition of  any  kind.  On  the  afternoon  of  this  day  the 
newspapers  were  again  issued.  The  commanders  of  two 
of  the  Russian  fronts  under  whom  were  hundreds  of  thou- 
sands of  soldiers  publicly  announced  their  allegiance  to 
the  new  government  and  it  began  to  appear  as  if  the 
revolution  was  successful  in  every  respect.  Reports  of 
the  unfortunate  and  unprovoked  killing  of  some  of  the 
naval  commanders  even  after  they  had  acknowledged 
allegiance  to  the  new  government  produced  depression 
but  the  Imperial  Government  and  its  friends  had  been  so 
completely  over-awed  that  they  made  no  attempt  to  resist 
the  new  order.  In  fact,  all  who  were  opposed  to  anarchy 
had  about  arrived  at  the  conclusion  that  the  only  way 
to  avoid  such  a  reign  was  to  yield  willing  allegiance  to 
the  new  Ministry  if  not  to  support  it  aggressively. 

11  March  17th. 

"On  this  day  the  abdication  of  the  Emperor  for  him- 
self and  son  was  officially  promulgated.  The  authority 
of  the  new  Ministers  who  had  taken  charge  of  their 
respective  Departments  was  generally  recognized.  The 
soldiers  and  students  and  the  unreasonable  revolution- 
ists seemed  to  be  exhausted  and  willing  to  rest  and  take 
stock  of  the  surrounding  conditions.  By  this  time  all 
thought  of  the  Imperial  Party  attempting  any  opposition 


70      RUSSIA  FROM  THE  AMERICAN  EMBASSY 

to  the  new  Ministry  was  abandoned.  The  program  of 
the  Duma  began  to  be  discussed.  The  plan  was  a  most 
comprehensive  one  and  eminently  wise.  The  Duma,  a 
committee  of  which  had  named  the  Ministry,  had  practi- 
cally abdicated  and  all  governmental  authority  was 
vested  in  a  Council  of  Ministers,  the  personality  of  whose 
members  seemed  to  meet  with  universal  satisfaction, 
and  in  fact  commendation.  Meetings  of  the  'Commis- 
sion of  Workingmen's  and  Soldiers'  Deputies'  were 
continued  in  the  Duma.  Soldiers  in  uniform  and  armed 
were  marching  in  the  streets  and  although  they  had  few 
commissioned  officers  they  were  keeping  step,  observing 
discipline  and  making  efforts  to  enforce  order.  The  revo- 
lutionists were  divided  in  judgment  or  preference  as  to 
whether  the  Provisional  Government  should  be  suc- 
ceeded by  a  republic  or  a  constitutional  monarchy.  There 
was  no  difference  of  feeling,  however,  concerning  the 
wisdom  of  respecting  the  authority  of  the  Provisional 
Government.  That  was  the  condition  at  the  end  of  six 
memorable  days  during  which  the  extent  and  the  marvel- 
ous success  and  the  comparatively  bloodless  consum- 
mation of  a  widespread  revolution  had  surprised  and 
stunned  even  its  projectors  and  most  ardent  champions." 

The  day  before  I  had  said  in  a  letter  to  Madden  Sum- 
mers, Consul-General  at  Moscow : 

"Whitehouse  and  Riggs  have  just  brought  into  the 
Embassy  a  report  which  seems  authentic  to  the  effect 
that  the  Czar  has  abdicated  for  himself  and  for  the 
Czarevitch  in  favor  of  his  brother  Michael.  And  just 
before  W.  and  R.  met  the  man  with  whom  they  were 
talking  and  from  whom  they  got  this  information,  Schid- 
loffsky,  one  of  the  Duma  Committee  of  Twelve,  a  tele- 
gram had  been  received  from  Grand  Duke  Michael  also 
abdicating.  These  men  reported  that  there  was  great 
excitement  in  the  Duma  and  that  Schidloffsky  told  them 
there  was  only  one  thing  determined  and  that  was  that 
no  Romanoff  should  succeed  to  the  throne,  Tfce  work- 


THE  MAECH  REVOLUTION  71 

ingmen's  party  have  been  joined  by  some  soldiers,  I 
don't  know  how  many,  and  they  have  a  committee  called 
*  Committee  of  Wbrkingmen's  Party  and  Soldiers*  Depu- 
ties*; this  committee  has  issued  a  number  of  proclama- 
tions— I  think  several  daily — and  these  pronunciamentos 
have  been  filled  with  rot.  That  organization  demands  a 
republic. 

1 '  The  Ministry  selected  seems  to  be  composed  of  good 
men  whose  selection  reflects  credit  on  the  judgment  of 
the  authorities  by  whom  they  were  chosen.  I  am  much 
pleased  to  hear  that  the  President  of  the  Ministry,  Lvoff, 
is  a  first  cousin  of  your  mother-in-law  and  that  other 
members  of  the  Ministry  are  connected  with  your  family 
and  that  you  know  many  of  them  personally.  I  have  been 
of  the  opinion  that  it  would  be  unwise  to  attempt  to  estab- 
lish a  republican  form  of  government  in  Russia  just  now, 
but  if  such  men  as  these  are  put  at  the  helm,  it  is  possible 
they  may  be  able  to  steer  through  the  breakers  that  beset 
its  course.  The  Duma  party  favors  a  vigorous  prosecu- 
tion of  the  war,  but  the  utterances  of  the  Workingmen 
and  Soldiers  Deputies  Committee  declare  in  favor  of 
concerted  action  on  the  part  of  the  proletariat  of  the 
belligerent  countries  in  putting  an  end  to  a  war  which 
they  say  is  waged  in  the  interest  of  capital  at  the  expense 
of  labor  and  the  laboring  classes. 

"  There  is  a  rumor  this  afternoon  that  Emperor 
William  has  been  deposed  and  there  have  been  rumors 
extant  for  several  days  to  the  effect  that  there  is  a  revo- 
lution in  Germany.  One  report  is  that  there  was  a  bread 
riot  in  Berlin,  and  that  the  people  went  to  the  Imperial 
Palace  en  masse  and  demanded  bread  of  the  Emperor, 
who  replied  by  turning  the  hose  on  them,  and  that  there- 
upon the  mob  demolished  the  palace.  There  are  so  many 
rumors,  however,  that  one  does  not  know  which  to  credit 
if  any." 


72      EUSSIA  FROM  THE  AMERICAN  EMBASSY 

I  have  since  realized  that  these  rumors  of  a  German 
revolution  and  all  similar  rumors  were  deliberately  circu- 
lated by  the  radical  leaders  in  order  to  make  their  plan 
for  a  world  revolution  appear  feasible. 

In  a  dispatch  to  the  Department,  of  March  15th,  in 
commenting  on  the  revolution,  I  said : 

"This  is  undoubtedly  a  revolution,  but  it  is  the  best 
managed  revolution  that  has  ever  taken  place,  for  its 
magnitude.  The  Duma  is  assuming  control  and  is  exer- 
cising its  authority  in  Petrograd  with  rare  good  judg- 
ment. Its  President,  Rodzianko,  is  head  of  the  provi- 
sional government  and  is  called  'Chairman  of  the  Com- 
mission.' Bulletins  are  issued,  although  no  newspapers 
are  published,  giving  official  information  concerning 
events.  This  one  that  came  to  the  Embassy  this  morn- 
ing gives  the  names  of  a  new  Cabinet  of  Ministers — in 
some  cases  two  or  more  are  appointed  instead  of  one  as 
heretofore.  The  Emperor  was  stopped  on  his  way  to 
Tsarskoe-Selo — from  the  front — and  there  are  rumors 
about  his  being  forcibly  detained;  in  fact,  one  of  the 
Assistant  Ministers  of  Foreign  Affairs,  Polotsoff,  made 
this  statement  to  Mr.  Miles  yesterday  afternoon. 

"Upon  the  whole  Russia  is  to  be  congratulated  in  my 
judgment  on  the  prospect  of  getting  through  an  impor- 
tant change  in  government  with  so  little  bloodshed  and 
without  material  interference  with  the  war  she  is  wag- 
ing with  powerful  antagonists.  One  cause  of  this  revolu- 
tion is  a  suspicion  on  the  part  of  the  army  and  of  the 
people  who  call  themselves  true  Russians,  that  the 
Empress  and  those  surrounding  her  have  been  planning 
a  separate  peace  with  the  enemy  and  that  the  Emperor 
has  yielded  too  often  and  too  completely  to  her  in- 
fluence." 

In  a  circular  letter  addressed  to  my  colleagues  in  the 
American  diplomatic  service,  I  commented  thus  upon  the 
outcome  of  the  revolution: 

"At  this  writing,  Saturday,  March  24th,  orderly  quiet 


THE  MAECH  BEVOLUTION  73 

prevails  and  every  day  it  continues  strengthens  the 
present  government.  The  Government  is  the  Ministry 
which  is  in  absolute  control  and  its  authority  is  loyally 
recognized  by  the  army  and  navy  and  by  every  munici- 
pality and  province  in  Eussia  so  far  as  known.  The 
duty  and  prerogative  of  this  Ministry  is  to  call  a  constit- 
uent assembly,  or  a  convention  as  we  would  designate  it, 
the  members  of  which  are  to  be  chosen  by  universal 
suffrage,  including  women.  That  assembly  will  be  em- 
powered to  determine  the  kind  of  a  government  Bussia 
will  have,  whether  a  republic  or  a  constitutional  mon- 
archy. In  the  wise  plan  worked  out  by  the  Duma, 
through  the  Committee  appointed  to  select  the  Ministry, 
care  was  taken  that  the  Imperial  succession  should  not 
lapse,  and  thus  a  claim  of  any  member  of  the  royal 
family  to  the  throne  by  virtue  of  blood  succession  was 
barred.  That  was  done  by  having  the  Emperor  abdicate 
for  himself  and  the  Czarevitch  in  favor  of  his  brother, 
Michael,  and  then  Michael  was  'persuaded'  to  accept  the 
transferred  crown  on  condition  that  the  people  of  Bus- 
sia so  desired,  and  when  and  if  so  accepted  to  exercise 
its  functions  under  the  advice  or  control  of  a  law  making 
body  elected  by,  and  representative  of,  the  people.'' 

In  a  dispatch  to  the  Secretary  of  State  sent  the  next 
day,  March  25th,  I  touched  upon  the  vulnerable  spot  in 
the  new  Government — the  point  at  which  entered  the 
poison  which  eventually  destroyed  the  entire  govern- 
mental organism.  I  said: 

"As  to  present  conditions,  the  situation  is  very  re- 
markable. While  the  authority  of  the  Ministry  is  rec- 
ognized throughout  Bussia  the  Ministers  very  candidly 
tell  me  that  of  the  troops  in  Petrograd,  numbering  from 
100,000  to  150,000,  a  majority  are  on  the  side  of  the 
workingmen  and  are  influenced  more  (if  not  absolutely) 


74:      EUSSIA  FKOM  THE  AMEKICAN  EMBASSY 

by  the  Committee  of  Workingmen's  Party  and  Soldiers' 
Deputies  than  by  the  Ministry  itself.  The  policemen, 
who  were  so  bitterly  hated  by  the  people,  and  who  were 
pursued  so  mercilessly  during  the  three  days  of  rioting, 
are  all  in  confinement  and  are  to  be  sent  to  the  front. 
The  patrol  of  the  city  is  still  under  an  officer  called  the 
*  Grande  Archalnick,'  who  was  selected  by  the  Ministry 
with  the  approval  of  the  Workingmen's  and  Soldiers' 
Deputies.  The  patrol  is  composed  of  soldiers  who  walk 
the  streets  in  companies  of  two  or  four,  and  by  what  is 
called  the  'city  militia' — a  body  composed  mostly  of  stu- 
dents, armed  with  guns  and  patrolling  generally  in 
groups  of  the  same  size.  It  speaks  highly  for  the  spirit 
of  this  revolution  that  notwithstanding  the  want  of 
respect  for  authority,  order  is  so  well  preserved — there 
are  very  few  disturbances.  On  the  first  day  of  the  revo- 
lution the  prison  doors  were  opened  and  the  inmates 
liberated.  The  incentive  to  this  action  was  the  desire  of 
the  populace  and  the  revolutionary  soldiers  to  liberate 
the  political  prisoners,  but  they  failed  to  make  distinc- 
tion when  they  opened  the  prison  doors,  with  the  result 
that  hundreds  of  hardened  criminals  were  released  to 
prey  upon  the  public.  Some  of  these  criminals  dressed 
in  soldiers'  uniforms  went  to  private  residences  and 
demanded  admittance  to  search  for  firearms  and  while 
in  the  houses  committed  thefts.  The  present  police 
authority  is  attempting  to  arrest  these  fugitive  crimi- 
nals, and  very  few  of  them  are  still  at  large — many  of 
them,  in  fact,  are  reported  to  have  returned  voluntarily 
to  their  prisons. 

1  'An  assistant  to  the  Prefect  of  Police  called  at  the 
Embassy  Monday  or  Tuesday  and  said  he  desired  to  send 
a  guard  of  seven  soldiers  to  protect  the  Embassy.  I 
had  seen  no  occasion  for  a  guard,  but  thinking  it  unwise 
to  refuse  and  fearing  the  Prefect  knew  more  of  the  dan- 
ger of  the  Embassy  than  I  did,  I  consented.  Seven 
soldiers  with  guns  and  fixed  bayonets  appeared  the  fol- 
lowing day.  One  was  stationed  at  the  front  door,  the 
other  at  the  gateway,  and  quarters  were  provided  for 
the  remaining  five;  these  soldiers  were  given  by  the 
Embassy  two  roubles  (Rs.2.00)  per  day  each  for* their 


THE  MARCH  REVOLUTION  75 

subsistence.  Yesterday,  March  24th,  the  Embassy  was 
notified  that  there  was  no  longer  occasion  for  a  guard 
and  the  soldiers  left  about  5  o  'clock  in  the  afternoon. 

"It  is  marvelous  that  there  doesn't  seem  to  be  as 
much  scarcity  of  food  as  there  was  before  the  revolution 
began,  notwithstanding  that  the  transportation  lines  have 
been  crippled  and  fewer  trains  have  been  operated. 
Indeed  the  cause  of  the  outbreaks  was  that  the  people 
believed  that  food  was  not  half  as  scarce  as  the  dealers 
or  the  Government  supply  station,  professed. 

"  During  the  first  two  or  three  days  of  the  revolution, 
March  12th-14th,  the  bread  lines  disappeared  and  I  have 
neither  seen  nor  heard  of  any  during  the  past  four  days. 
Sugar  which  could  not  be  obtained  for  three  roubles  (90c) 
per  pound,  I  understand,  is  now  on  sale  at  eighty  kopeks 
(24c)  per  pound,  and  it  is  the  same  with  butter." 

An  eye-witness  has  described  the  abdication  of  the 
Czar  and  the  events  immediately  preceding  it  in  an 
account  written  for  a  Russian  newspaper, 

It  seems  that  on  the  night  of  March  14th,  1916,  the 
Emperor 's  train,  preceded  by  a  train  under  command  of 
Major-General  Tsabel,  Commandant  of  the  Railway 
Regiment,  was  on  the  way  from  Staff  Headquarters  to 
Tsarskoe-Selo  whither  Nicholas  had  been  summoned  by 
the  Empress.  With  the  Emperor  on  the  Imperial  train 
were  the  feeble  old  Count  Fredericks,  the  celebrated 
Admiral  Niloff,  former  Commander  of  the  Marines  of  the 
Guard  and  the  Commandant  of  the  Palace,  Voeikoff.  The 
Emperor 's  companions  were  drinking  heavily  and  Admi- 
ral Niloff  kept  urging  the  Emperor  to  drink. 

At  this  time  the  Emperor  had  not  been  informed  of 
the  situation  in  Petrograd  and  Voeikoff  and  Niloff  were 
afraid  lest  he  should  learn  the  truth.  At  one  o'clock 
General  Tsabel  became  excited  and  told  Voeikoff  he  must 
tell  the  Emperor,  otherwise  he,  Tsabel,  would  tell  him 
himself.  Voeikoff  agreed  but  told  the  Czar  a  much  modi- 


fied  story.  Later,  the  Emperor  called  Niloff  and  asked 
him  what  was  going  on  in  Petrograd.  Niloff  answered 
that  though  there  were  great  disorders,  a  telegram  had 
just  come  stating  that  700  knights  of  St.  George  were 
then  on  their  way  to  Petrograd  and  that  these  brave 
soldiers  could  quickly  put  down  all  revolt. 

At  this  point  General  Tsabel  entered  the  train  and 
said: 

4 'All  this  is  a  lie!  Your  Majesty,  they  are  deceiving 
you.  Here  is  the  telegram.  See,  it  reads,  'Petrograd, 
Commandant  of  the  Nicholas  Railway  Station,  Lieu- 
tenant Grekoff.  .  .  .  Hold  at  Station  Vishera  Train  No. 
A,  and  when  you  dispatch  it  send  it  to  Petrograd  and  not 
to  Tsarskoe-Selo.r  " 

The  Emperor  jumped  up. 

"What's  this?  Bevolt?  Lieutenant  Grekoff  com- 
mands Petrograd?" 

Tsabel  replied : 

"Tour  Majesty,  in  Petrograd  there  are  60,000  soldiers 
with  their  officers  at  their  head  that  have  already  gone 
over  to  the  side  of  the  temporary  Government.  Your 
Majesty  has  been  declared  dethroned.  Eodzianko  has 
proclaimed  to  the  whole  of  Eussia  that  a  new  order  has 
come  to  hand.  You  cannot  go  ahead;  Deputy  Bublikoff 
is  running  all  the  railroads." 

In  extreme  surprise,  perplexity  and  anger  the  Emperor 
cried : 

"Why  have  you  not  told  me  anything  about  this 
sooner?  Why  are  you  telling  me  only  now,  after  all  is 
over?" 

But  after  a  minute  with  calm  despondency  he  said : 

"Well,  thank  God!  I'll  go  to  Livadia.  If  the  people 
want  me  to,  I'll  abdicate  and  retire  to  Livadia  to  my 
garden.  I  love  flowers." 

At  the  station  of  Dno,  they  came  up  with  the  train  of 


THE  MAECH  REVOLUTION  77 

General  Ivanoff,  who  reported  to  the  Emperor  all  that 
had  happened  in  the  capitals  and  said : 

' '  The  revolutionists  have  got  the  power  in  their  hands. 
The  only  salvation  now  is  to  go  to  the  army.'* 

One  of  those  present  belonging  to  the  Emperor's  suite 
affirms  that  at  this  moment  General  Voeikoff  cried : 

"Only  one  thing  remains  to  be  done  now.  Open  the 
Minsk  front  to  the  Germans  and  let  the  German  armies 
come  in  and  put  down  this  rabble!" 

Drunk  as  he  was,  Admiral  Niloff  grew  indignant  and 
said: 

'  *  That  would  hardly  do  any  good,  for  they  would  take 
Eussia  and  they  would  not  give  it  up  again  to  us. ' ' 

Voeikoff  kept  on  urging  his  plan,  however,  assuring 
the  Emperor  that,  according  to  what  Princess  Vassil- 
chikoff  had  reported,  Emperor  William  was  making  war 
not  on  Emperor  Nicholas  but  on  Eussia  with  its  anti- 
dynastic  tendencies. 

To  this  the  Emperor  replied: 

"Yes,  Gregory  Ephimovich  (Easputin)  often  talked  to 
me  along  this  line,  but  we  would  not  listen  to  him.  This 
could  have  been  done  when  the  German  armies  were  in 
front  of  Warsaw,  but  I  never  would  have  betrayed  the 
Eussian  people." 

So  saying,  the  Emperor  wept. 

Then,  after  a  moment's  silence,  he  added: 

' '  If  only  my  wife  and  children  have  been  saved,  I  shall 
go  to  Livadia  and  pass  the  rest  of  my  life  there  in  peace 
and  quiet.  Let  Michael  rule  the  best  he  can.  By  the 
way,  he  is  liked." 

The  Emperor  had  left  Tsarskoe-Selo  for  Moghileff 
early  Friday  morning,  March  9th,  after  being  persuaded 
by  the  Empress  and  Protopopoff  to  destroy  the  decrees 
which  he  had  promised  the  Ministry  to  issue  to  the  Duma, 
extending  the  powers  of  the  Duma,  and  promising  a  new 


78      EUSSIA  FROM  THE  AMERICAN  EMBASSY 

Constitution  to  Russia.  These  decrees  had  been  drawn 
up  by  the  Council  of  Ministers  and  sent  by  Protopopoff 
to  the  Palace  at  Tsarskoe-Selo  for  the  Emperor's  signa- 
ture. When  the  Empress  saw  them  she  was  very  indig- 
nant, and,  seconded  by  Protopopoff  succeeded  in  con- 
vincing the  Emperor  that  he  was  making  a  mistake  in 
adopting  such  a  liberal  policy.  Nicholas  II.  in  his  weak- 
ness yielded  to  the  arguments  of  his  wife,  ably  and 
aggressively  seconded  by  the  Minister  of  the  Interior, 
who  assured  the  Emperor  that  he  could  suppress  any 
uprising  of  the  people.  It  was  a  fatal  moment  for  the 
Czar  when  he  yielded  to  this  appeal  of  the  Czarina,  If 
he  had  been  firm  and  had  complied  with  his  promise  to 
the  Council  of  Ministers  the  Revolution  could  at  least 
have  been  deferred.  Before  a  week  had  elapsed  the 
Emperor  had  abdicated  the  throne  which  he  had  inherited 
from  his  ancestors  and  the  Romanoff  Dynasty  was  no 
more.  If  he  had  signed  the  liberal  decrees  prepared  for 
him  and  which  he  had  pledged  himself  to  sign,  the  result 
would  have  been  far  different.  Russia  would  have 
probably  continued  in  the  war  until  its  successful  ending 
and  hundreds  of  thousands  of  lives  of  the  youths  of  the 
Allies  would  have  been  spared. 

Rodzianko  had  telegraphed  the  Emperor  once  Monday 
the  12th  and  twice  on  Tuesday,  but  the  telegrams  had 
not  been  delivered  to  the  Emperor  until  Tuesday  eve- 
ning, when  the  Russian  officer  had  threatened  to  commu- 
nicate their  contents  to  the  Emperor  himself  if  General 
Voeikoff,  Commandant  of  the  Palace,  did  not  deliver 
them  to  His  Majesty. 

The  Emperor  at  once  decided  to  go  to  Petrograd,  but 
his  advisers  persuaded  him  to  go  to  Tsarskoe-Selo  first 
and  call  a  meeting  of  his  Ministers.  The  special  train 
was  hastily  prepared,  and  the  Emperor  started  from 
Moghileff  for  Tsarskoe-Selo.  During  the  night  the  train 


THE  MAECH  REVOLUTION  79 

was  stopped  and  upon  Voeikoff  being  informed  that  the 
road  was  blocked  he  changed  the  route  and  the  train 
proceeded.  The  next  morning  the  Imperial  Party 
arrived  at  Pskoff  where  it  was  held  by  the  Superinten- 
dent of  the  Station  to  await  the  arrival  of  the  two 
deputies  of  the  Provisional  Government,  as  related  in 
the  article  quoted  above.  These  two  deputies  were 
Goutchkoff  and  Shulgin  who  had  been  sent  by  the  Pro- 
visional Government  to  demand  the  abdication  of  the 
Emperor.  He  received  them  courteously  and  upon  being 
informed  of  their  business  calmly  said  he  was  ready  to 
abdicate  in  favor  of  Grand  Duke  Michael  not  only  for 
himself  but  for  his  son  also.  Retiring  into  his  private 
room  he  came  out  a  few  minutes  later  with  a  typewritten 
document  which  he  submitted  to  Goutchkoff  and  Shulgin, 
and  upon  their  approving,  promptly  signed  his  abdica- 
tion. It  was  witnessed  by  Count  Fredericks,  the  Mare- 
schal  of  the  Imperial  Court,  who  had  served  the  Crown 
loyally  for  nearly  forty  years.  This  occurred  late  Wed- 
nesday evening,  March  14th,  and  the  Emperor  in  a 
private  wire  conversation  with  the  Empress  the  next 
morning  did  not  tell  her  of  his  abdication.  The  first 
knowledge  she  had  of  it  was  on  the  afternoon  of  Thurs- 
day, on  the  arrival  of  an  officer  with  a  guard,  who 
informed  her  that  she  was  under  arrest.  "When  she 
asked  where  the  Emperor  was,  he  told  her  that  he  had 
abdicated.  She  retorted,  "It  is  a  lie,  I  talked  to  him 
this  morning  and  he  did  not  tell  me  of  it."  What  must 
have  been  her  feelings  when  she  was  convinced  of  the 
truth  of  the  abdication !  Did  she  realize  she  was  respon- 
sible for  it?  Both  the  Emperor  and  the  Empress  have 
long  since  paid  the  penalty  of  their  follies.  Upon  abdi- 
cating the  Emperor  asked  of  the  delegates  of  the  Provi- 
sional Government  what  disposition  they  proposed  to 
make  of  him.  and  they  replied  that  he  could  return  to 


Headquarters  if  lie  so  desired.  He  did  return  to  Moghi- 
leff,  and  remained  there  four  days,  during  which  time 
he  was  visited  by  the  Empress  Dowager,  who  endeavored 
to  comfort  him,  but  from  all  accounts  she  was  more 
perturbed  than  he  was.  The  Emperor  did  not  seem  to 
realize  what  had  happened.  At  the  end  of  four  days 
when  he  was  ordered  to  Tsarskoe-Selo  Palace  he  went 
quietly  and  calmly  while  his  mother,  the  Empress  Dowa- 
ger, in  bidding  him  good-by  was  overcome  with  emotion. 

Upon  his  arrival  at  Tsarskoe-Selo  he  was  received  by 
the  Empress,  whose  spirit  had  not  been  broken.  Her 
children  were  seriously  ill  with  the  measles  and  had 
absorbed  her  attention.  A  few  days  later  Kerensky,  the 
Minister  of  Justice  of  the  Provisional  Government, 
visited  the  Emperor  and  had  an  hour's  conference  with 
him.  Toward  the  end  of  the  conversation,  the  Empress 
is  said  to  have  entered  the  room  and  upon  the  Emperor 
presenting  Kerensky  to  her,  the  latter  kissed  her  hand 
and  drawing  up  a  chair  invited  her  to  be  seated. 
Straightening  her  queenly  figure,  she  remarked,  "I  do 
not  need  to  be  offered  a  chair  in  my  own  palace. ' '  This 
to  the  man  to  whom  she  was  probably  indebted  for  her 
life  and  the  Emperor's.  Kerensky  had  during  the  first 
days  of  the  Eevolution  exerted  his  potential  influence 
with  the  violent  workmen  and  soldiers  to  prevent  them 
from  committing  excesses.  Too  much  credit  cannot  be 
given  Kerensky  for  his  conduct  during  the  first  week  of 
the  Eevolution. 

The  Emperor  and  Empress  were  permitted  to  have 
private  conversation  during  the  first  two  days  after  the 
Emperor's  arrival,  but  they  were  separated  during  the 
remainder  of  their  stay  at  Tsarskoe-Selo,  only  being 
permitted  to  see  each  other  at  meals  when  there  was 
always  a  representative  of  the  Provisional  Government 
in  attendance.  When  someone  in  authority  was  asked 


THE  MAECH  REVOLUTION  81 

why  the  Emperor  and  Empress  were  not  permitted  to 
enjoy  each  other's  society,  the  reply  was,  "He  is  too 
weak  and  she  is  too  strong." 

Upon  the  occasion  of  Kerensky's  visit  to  Tsarskoe  an 
incident  occurred  relating  to  the  Czarevitch.  The  story 
is  told  that  when  Kerensky  emerged  from  the  conference 
he  was  approached  by  the  Czarevitch,  who,  after  making 
known  his  own  identity,  asked  Kerensky  if  he  was  the 
Minister  of  Justice  of  the  Provisional  Government. 

"Yes,"  said  Kerensky,  "I  am." 

"I  want  to  know/'  said  the  Czarevitch,  "if  my  father 
had  any  right  to  abdicate  for  me  when  he  abdicated  for 
himself." 

Kerensky's  reply  is  not  recorded.  Another  instance 
of  children  asking  questions  which  learned  and  wise  men 
were  unable  to  answer. 


CHAPTER  VI 

AMERICAN  RECOGNITION  OF  THE  PROVISIONAL  GOVERN- 
MENT 

IN  the  absence  of  instructions  from  the  Department  of 
State  I  did  not  feel  authorized  to  have  any  official  com- 
munication with  the  Provisional  Government.  Realiz- 
ing, however,  that  the  Embassy  was  confronted  by  con- 
ditions with  which  the  Department  was  unacquainted,  I 
determined  to  take  advantage  of  personal  acquaintance- 
ship in  order  to  advise  myself  authoritatively  for  the 
purpose  of  communicating  with  the  Department  and 
giving  my  opinion  if  not  making  an  outright  request  for 
authority  to  act.  By  telephone  I  made  an  engagement 
with  Michael  Rodzianko,  President  of  the  Duma,  whom 
I  knew  personally  and  who  was  the  man  who  had  offi- 
cially promulgated  the  decrees  of  that  body  which,  by 
refusing  to  obey  the  decree  of  the  Emperor  ordering  its 
adjournment,  had  commanded  the  attention  and  in  fact 
the  admiration  and  respect  of  all  opponents  of  autocratic 
government.  He  received  me  cordially  at  his  residence 
and  in  a  conversation  of  about  half  an  hour  I  learned 
from  an  authoritative  source  the  plans  of  the  leaders  of 
this  remarkable  uprising  which  had  met  with  such  univer- 
sal approval  among  all  classes  of  Russia's  immense 
population.  I  told  Mr.  Rodzianko  that  I  was  making  an 
unofficial  call  upon  him  in  order  to  learn  the  truth  con- 
cerning the  state  of  affairs  so  that  I  could  cable  the  same 
to  my  government  and  could  base  thereon  my  judgment 
as  to  future  developments." 

Rodzianko  had  been  President  of  the  Fourth  Duma 

82 


AMERICAN  RECOGNITION  83 

since  its  organization  and  had  made  a  satisfactory  pre- 
siding officer ;  impartial  in  his  rulings  and  prompt  in  his 
decisions.  He  was  a  large  man,  over  six  feet  in  height 
and  very  heavy,  weighing  almost  three  hundred  pounds. 
I  had  met  him  several  times — in  fact  he  had  dined  with 
me  previous  to  the  Revolution.  He  was  an  eloquent 
speaker  and  had  a  great  voice  that  could  reach  thousands 
of  auditors  in  the  open  air,  and  it  was  a  familiar  saying 
among  Russians  that  Rodzianko's  voice  "on  a  still  day 
could  be  heard  a  verst" — which  is  about  two-thirds  of  a 
mile.  He  was  a  constitutional  monarchist  by  conviction 
and  a  large  landowner,  but  very  liberal  in  his  views;  I 
don 't  think  he  acknowledged  allegiance  to  any  party.  He 
spoke  English  fairly  well  and  was  very  affable  and 
approachable.  He  received  me  in  his  study  or  library 
and  when  I  stated  the  object  of  my  call  seemed  very 
much  interested.  At  the  time  of  my  call  the  Revolution 
had  been  in  progress  six  days  and  during  all  that  time 
he  had  been  in  the  Duma  building,  and  my  recollection 
is  that  he  told  me  the  preceding  night  was  the  only  night 
he  had  stayed  at  home  since  the  Sunday  night  before.  He 
was  not  as  clear  in  his  statements  concerning  the  plans 
of  the  Provisional  Government  as  was  MiliukofT  and 
before  I  suggested  calling  on  Miliukoff  as  I  had  intended, 
he  advised  me  to  do  so  and  made  the  engagement  for  me. 
The  President  of  the  Duma  while  much  respected  for  his 
character  and  oratorical  ability  was  not  considered  the 
strongest  man  in  that  body.  At  the  time  of  my  call  he 
was  on  the  top  wave  of  his  popularity;  he  was  President 
of  the  Commission  of  Twelve  appointed  by  the  Duma  to 
select  a  Ministry  for  the  Provisional  Government,  and 
his  speaking  qualities  had  made  him  quite  prominent 
during  the  previous  six  days  in  addressing  soldiers  who 
left  their  barracks  and  marched  to  the  Duma  in  bodies 
of  a  thousand  or  more,  and  in  addressing  the  crowds  that 


84      RUSSIA  FROM  THE  AMERICAN  EMBASSY 

assembled  in  the  building  and  adjacent  grounds.  I  never 
learned  whether  it  was  the  President  that  made  the  sug- 
gestion to  the  Duma  to  adjourn  sine  die  but  always 
thought  that  adjournment  was  a  mistake.  The  Com- 
mission of  Twelve,  of  which  Rodzianko  was  made  Chair- 
man, was  vested  with  full  power  to  select  a  new  Ministry 
and  as  an  extra  precaution  was  instructed  by  the  Duma 
to  cease  functioning  when  the  Ministers  had  been  named. 
This  was  also  a  mistake  in  my  judgment.  The  Duma 
was  the  most  representative  body  in  Russia  at  the  time 
of  the  Revolution  and  if  it  had  not  been  dissolved  by 
its  own  vote  could  have  remained  in  session  notwith- 
standing the  decree  of  the  Emperor  ordering  its  dissolu- 
tion. Furthermore,  it  could  have  directed  the  Com- 
mission of  Twelve  to  report  to  it  and  would  have  thereby 
strengthened  the  Provisional  Government.  However,  the 
Workmen's  Party  under  the  leadership  of  Chidzi  was 
exercising  authority  in  the  Duma  building,  and  increased 
its  power  by  giving  to  the  soldiers  representation  in  their 
organization  after  which  it  was  named  Workmen's  and 
Soldiers'  Deputies;  later  by  adding  representation  for 
the  Peasants  it  came  to  be  known  as  the  " Workmen's, 
Soldiers'  and  Peasants'  Deputies."  The  members  of 
the  Duma  no  doubt  reasoned  that  if  they  continued  in 
session  it  would  provoke  a  contest  with  the  Workmen, 
Soldiers  and  Peasants ;  furthermore  the  Clergy  and  Mon- 
archists constituted  a  potential  faction  in  the  member- 
ship of  the  Duma.  A  stronger  man  in  the  President's 
chair  might  have  perpetuated  the  Duma  and  made  of  it  a 
potential  factor  in  the  situation,  but  Rodzianko  was 
not  equal  to  that  undertaking. 

Rodzianko  remained  in  Petrograd  most  of  the  time 
during  the  eight  months'  existence  of  the  Provisional 
Government  but  after  the  Bolsheviks  came  into  power 
he  lived  in  retirement  if  net  in  hiding.  There  was  a 


AMERICAN  RECOGNITION  85 

rumor  in  Petrograd  a  few  days  after  the  Bolsheviks 
came  into  power  that  they  were  looking  for  ten  or  twelve 
men  and  Rodzianko 's  name  headed  the  list.  The  day 
after  this  report  was  circulated  I  received  a  note  from 
him  introducing  its  bearer  as  his  friend  and  a  man  to 
whom  I  could  talk  freely.  The  bearer  of  this  note  told 
me  that  Rodzianko  and  he  had  been  friends  from  their 
youth.  When  I  asked  him  where  Rodzianko  was  at  that 
time  he  replied  that  he  was  in  his  apartment  a  short 
distance  from  the  Embassy.  He  said  that  Rodzianko 
was  in  hiding  and  when  I  asked  if  I  could  see  him  replied, 
'  *  Of  course,  if  you  will  come  to  my  apartment. ' '  I  went 
and  had  a  talk  with  him.  He  said  his  life  was  in  danger 
and  asked  if  he  could  take  refuge  in  the  American  Em- 
bassy. I  replied  that  it  would  be  unsafe  for  him  to  come 
there  but  my  secretary,  Earl  Johnston,  was  living  in  an 
apartment  with  a  special  investigator  of  the  Depart- 
ment of  Commerce  and  that  both  young  men  could  be 
trusted  and,  as  they  were  occupying  a  commodious  apart- 
ment, would  be  glad  to  furnish  him  a  refuge.  This  proved 
satisfactory  to  Rodzianko  and  he  expressed  the  intention 
of  availing  himself  of  the  hospitality  of  the  young  men 
provided  it  would  be  agreeable  to  them.  After  consulting 
them  I  advised  Rodzianko  that  the  young  men  would  be 
glad  to  receive  him  and  care  for  him  as  long  as  he  desired 
to  stay  with  them,  but  he  did  not  avail  himself  of  the 
considerate  offer  and  I  heard  nothing  more  from  him  for 
several  days.  I  afterwards  learned  that  after  remaining 
at  his  friend's  house  for  five  or  six  days  unmolested  he 
went  to  Novo  Russisk  and  joined  Kaledin — so  I  was 
informed  by  his  friend  whom  I  asked,  "How  was  Rod- 
zianko disguised?"  He  replied,  "As  a  woman,"  and 
when  I  expressed  doubt  about  the  possibility  of  success- 
fully disguising  the  huge  figure  of  Rodzianko  as  a  woman 
he  replied  he  had  had  a  telegram  reporting  that  Rod- 


r.(j      EUSSIA  FROM  THE  AMERICAN  EMBASSY 

zianko  had  arrived  safely  at  Novo  Russisk.  When  I 
asked  him  how  the  telegram  got  through  he  said  it  was 
prearranged  that  the  signature  should  be  in  an  assumed 
name  and  the  telegram  should  state  only  "She  arrived 
safe." 

From  the  satisfactory  interview  which  I  had  with 
Rodzianko,  I  returned  to  the  Embassy  where  I  had 
invited  to  luncheon  Baron  and  Baroness  Nolde.  Baron 
Nolde  had  been  connected  with  the  Foreign  Office  for 
many  years  as  its  judiciary  adviser,  having  retained  that 
place  through  many  changes  in  the  Ministry.  He,  how- 
ever, could  give  me  little  information  as  he  had  remained 
in  the  Foreign  Office  during  the  entire  week,  devoting 
himself  to  his  official  duties.  Meantime,  after  learning 
from  Rodzianko  that  Miliukoff  possessed  the  confidence 
of  himself  and  his  colleagues  as  Foreign  Minister,  I  had 
made  by  telephone  an  appointment  to  make  an  unofficial 
call  upon  that  Minister  with  whom  the  heads  of  all  the 
foreign  missions  had  the  closest  relations.  I  learned 
from  Dr.  Miliukoff,  with  whom  I  had  no  difficulty  in 
getting  telephonic  communication,  that  he  could  not  re- 
ceive me  at  his  residence  before  11 :30  p.m.  but  that  if  I 
would  come  to  the  Foreign  Office  he  would  be  pleased  to 
grant  me  an  interview.  I  went  to  the  Foreign  Office 
promptly,  was  cordially  received  by  the  new  Minister 
and  learned  from  him  the  plans  of  the  Provisional  Gov- 
ernment as  I  had  from  Rodzianko,  but  Miliukoff  stated 
them  more  clearly. 

I  had  met  Dr.  Miliukoff  soon  after  my  arrival  in 
Petrograd,  having  sat  beside  him  at  a  function  given  to 
me  by  the  Russo-American  Society,  of  which  Baron 
Rosen,  formerly  Ambassador  to  the  United  States,  was 
President.  Miliukoff  was  emphatic  in  his  assurance  that 
the  Provisional  Government  was  firmly  established  and 
Tvoulcl  administer  affairs  until  the  meeting  of  the  Con- 


TERESTCHENKO 

Minister  of  Finance  and  later  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs  under  the  First 
Provisional  Government 


PAUL  M1LIUKOFF 

First  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs  under 
the  Provisional  Government 


MICHAEL  RODZIANKO 

Formerly  President  of  the  Russian 
Duma 


AMERICAN  RECOGNITION  87 

stituent  Assembly  which  would  determine  the  form  of 
Government  for  all  the  Russias.  He  was  so  well  equipped 
to  be  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs  that  no  other  man  had 
been  spoken  of  for  the  place.  Miliukoff  had  lectured  in 
America  and  was  well  known  in  the  United  States  as  an 
eminent  scholar  and  patriotic  Russian.  He  was  sup- 
posed to  be  the  owner  of  the  Ryetch  (in  English 
"Voice"),  a  Petrograd  daily  newspaper  whose  columns 
were  ably  edited.  Dr.  Miliukoff  had  visited  several  of 
the  universities  of  this  country  and  was  personally 
acquainted  with  many  American  scholars.  He  was  looked 
upon  in  Russia,  as  in  all  other  countries,  as  a  statesman 
who  had  the  courage  of  his  convictions  and  withal  pos- 
sessed of  a  high  degree  of  culture.  He  was  a  thorough 
linguist,  speaking  English,  French,  German  and  Polish 
fluently.  His  attack  on  Stunner  in  the  Duma  in  the 
preceding  November  had  attracted  attention  throughout 
Russia.  He  had  aroused  the  revolutionary  spirit  of  the 
country  and  unquestionably  had  been  a  potential  factor 
in  bringing  about  the  first  Revolution.  He  had  been  for 
a  long  time  the  leader  of  the  Cadet  Party  which  was  the 
popular  designation  for  constitutional  Democrat;  he  had 
lead  that  party  with  a  firm  hand  and  had  been  fearless 
in  his  denunciations  of  the  oppressions  of  the  Monarchy. 
He  had  long  been  in  disfavor  with  the  monarchial  or 
reactionary  party  when  the  Revolution  began.  He 
appeared  to  be  about  fifty-three  years  of  age,  and  his 
manner  and  speech,  although  decided,  was  courteous. 
He  had  a  smooth  face  with  the  exception  of  a  slight 
mustache  and  was  about  five  feet  eleven  inches  in  height, 
muscular  and  active  with  no  surplus  flesh.  He  was  never 
at  a  loss  for  words  with  which  to  express  his  thoughts, 
and  was  a  facile  writer  and  logical  thinker.  He  im- 
pressed me  when  I  called  upon  him  that  Sunday,  March 


88     RUSSIA  FROM  THE  AMERICAN  EMBASSY 

18th,  as  a  man  who  realized  his  responsibility  and  would 
not  shirk  it. 

As  I  looked  at  him  and  heard  his  prompt  replies  to 
my  questions,  the  thought  passed  through  my  mind  that 
here  was  the  real  leader  of  the  Revolution;  here  was  a 
deep  thinker  and  a  genuine  Russian  patriot.  His  phil- 
ippic on  Sturmer  had  shown  his  high  sense  of  honor 
when  he  appealed  to  the  Duma  and  to  the  country  to 
uphold  at  any  cost  the  pledges  of  Russia  to  her  Allies. 
I  left  him  more  convinced  than  ever  that  the  rule  of  the 
Romanoffs  was  ended  and  that  those  entrusted  with  the 
administration  of  the  new  Government  were  right-think- 
ing, sincere  and  determined  Russians  who  would  prose- 
cute the  war  fearlessly  regardless  of  its  cost  in  blood  and 
treasure  and  would  advocate  the  form  of  government 
which  they  thought  would  best  serve  the  interest  of  their 
country. 

Miliukoff  took  a  leading  part  in  the  Council  of  Min- 
isters; he  was  outspoken  in  his  defense  of  what  he  be- 
lieved to  be  the  right  policies  regardless  of  consequences. 
He  had  no  patience  with  the  pronunciamentos  of  the 
Workmen's  and  Soldiers'  Deputies.  He  had  precipi- 
tated the  Revolution  by  charging  Sturmer  and  Proto- 
popoff  and  the  Court  with  negotiating  for  a  separate 
peace  with  Germany  and  thereby  breaking  faith  with 
Russia's  Allies,  and  he  foresaw  that  the  predominance 
of  the  principles  championed  by  the  Workmen's  and 
Soldiers'  Deputies  would  lead  inevitably  to  a  separate 
peace  with  the  Central  Empires.  He  was  a  bitter  oppo- 
nent of  socialism  and  had  often  locked  horns  with  Ker- 
ensky  in  the  Duma.  Kerensky  was  at  this  time  Minister 
of  Justice  and  performed  an  essential  part,  and  per- 
formed it  well  in  preventing  excesses  by  the  radical  revo- 
lutionists. Kerensky  probably  had  more  influence  dur- 
ing the  first  days  of  the  Revolution  than  any  other  Min- 


89 

ister  of  the  Provisional  Government  and  possibly  more 
than  any  other  Russian.  Therefore  when  Miliukoff  dif- 
fered with  Kerensky  concerning  the  retention  of  Con- 
stantinople by  Eussia  in  the  event  the  Central  Empires 
should  be  defeated  in  the  World  War  and  when  these 
two  distinguished  Russians  clashed  concerning  the  pro- 
visions of  the  secret  treaties  between  Russia  and  her 
Allies,  Miliukoff  was  not  only  in  the  minority  in  the 
Council  of  Ministers,  but  decidedly  in  the  minority  with 
the  Russian  people.  Notwithstanding  this  situation,  and 
Miliukoff  understood  it  better  than  anyone,  he  stood  by 
his  guns. 

/  According  to  the  plans,  as  explained  to  me  by  both 
Rodzianko  and  Miliukoff,  the  supreme  authority  of  the 
Government  was  vested  in  a  Ministry  under  the  Presi- 
dency of  Prince  Lvoff,  who  is  perhaps  the  most  highly 
respected  citizen  of  Russia,  who  had  been  President  of 
the  Union  of  Zemstvos  which  Protopopoff  several  months 
before  had  prohibited  from  continuing  their  meetings  not- 
withstanding the  very  efficient  and  excellent  service  they 
had  performed  in  furnishing  supplies  to  the  army  and 
to  the  large  cities  of  Russia.  It  was  the  duty  of  this 
Council  of  Ministers,  in  addition  to  administering  the 
affairs  of  the  government  in  these  troublous  times  and 
during  the  progress  of  a  terrible  war,  to  arrange  for  a 
meeting  of  a  Constituent  Assembly  at  as  early  a  date 
as  practicable;  the  prerogative  and  duty  of  such  assem- 
bly would  be  to  adopt  a  form  of  government  for  Russia ; 
that  form  when  adopted  would  be  binding  upon  the  whole 
people  because  the  membership  of  the  Assembly  was  to 
be  chosen  by  direct  vote  of  the  people  at  an  election  held 
on  a  date  to  be  fixed  by  the  Ministry  and  at  which  every 
citizen  and  soldier  of  Russia  would  be  permitted  to  vote. 
The  success  of  this  wise  and  comprehensive  plan  de- 
pended upon  many  contingencies  but,  however  problem- 


90      EUSSIA  FROM  THE  AMERICAN  EMBASSY 

atical  the  outcome  might  be,  the  best  if  not  the  only 
promise  of  organized  government,  the  maintenance  of 
order  and  the  protection  of  life  and  property  lay  in  the 
administration  of  a  Ministry  composed  of  patriotic  men 
who  had  character  and  ability  and  who  were  inspired  by 
high  motives.  Such  a  government  merited  the  support 
of  all  good  citizens  and  was  entitled  to  the  recognition 
of  all  foreign  governments  that  favor  law  and  order 
and  especially  of  that  government  represented  in  Russia 
by  me. 

After  these  conferences  I  was  so  thoroughly  imbued 
with  the  conviction  that  it  was  wise  for  the  Government 
of  the  United  States  to  recognize  the  Provisional  Gov- 
ernment, that  upon  returning  to  the  Embassy  I  retired 
to  my  private  apartment  with  my  secretary,  denied  my- 
self to  all  callers  and  prepared  the  following  cable  to  the 
Secretary  of  State : 

' l  The  six  days  between  last  Sunday  and  this  have  wit- 
nessed the  most  amazing  revolution  in  history.  A  nation 
of  two  hundred  million  people  who  have  lived  under  ab- 
solute monarchy  for  more  than  a  thousand  years  and 
who  are  now  engaged  in  the  greatest  war  ever  waged 
have  forced  their  Emperor  to  abdicate  for  himself  and 
his  heir  and  have  induced  his  brother,  to  whom  he  trans- 
ferred the  Imperial  authority,  to  accept  it  on  condition 
that  a  Constituent  Assembly  of  the  people  so  request 
and  when  so  accepted  to  exercise  its  functions  under 
authority  of  the  Government  framed  by  that  Assembly. 
This  is  official  information  obtained  by  my  personal 
unofficial  calls  to-day  on  Rodzianko  at  his  residence  and 
Miliukoff,  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs,  at  his  office.  There 
is  no  opposition  to  the  Provisional  Government,  which 
is  a  Council  of  Ministers,  appointed  by  a  Committee  of 
Twelve  named  by  the  Duma.  Quiet  prevails  here  and 
throughout  Russia  so  far  as  known.  Rodzianko  and 
Miliukoff  both  assure  me  that  the  entire  army  accepts 
the  authority  of  the  Provisional  Government  and  all 


91 

appearances  and  advices  confirm  the  same.  The  plan 
of  the  Provisional  Government  is  to  call  a  Constituent 
Assembly  or  convention  whose  members  will  be  elected 
by  the  whole  people  and  empowered  to  organize  a  gov- 
ernment. Whether  that  will  be  a  republic  or  a  constitu- 
tional monarchy  is  not  decided  but  the  conclusions  of 
the  Assembly  will  be  accepted  universally  and  enforced 
by  the  army  and  navy.  There  has  been  no  concerted 
action  in  the  Diplomatic  Corps;  no  meetings  have  been 
held  or  called.  It  has  been  customary  for  British,  French 
and  Italian  Ambassadors  to  call  daily  together  at  the 
Foreign  Office  and  they  called  upon  Miliukoff  Friday, 
yesterday  and  to-day  but  have  not  formally  recognized 
the  Provisional  Government.  Miliukoff  tells  me  confi- 
dentially that  Buchanan,  the  British  Ambassador,  has 
authority  from  his  government  for  recognition  but  is' 
waiting  until  the  Italian  and  French  Ambassadors  are 
likewise  authorized.  I  request  respectfully  that  you 
promptly  give  me  authority  to  recognize  the  Provisional 
Government,  as  the  first  recognition  is  desirable  from 
every  viewpoint.  This  revolution  is  the  practical  rea- 
lization of  that  principle  of  government  which  we  have 
championed  and  advocated — I  mean  government  by  con- 
sent of  the  governed.  Our  recognition  will  have  a  stu- 
pendous moral  effect  especially  if  given  first.  Kodzianko 
and  Miliukoff  both  assure  me  that  the  Provisional  Gov- 
ernment will  vigorously  prosecute  the  war.  Further- 
more, upon  Russia's  success  against  the  Central  Empires 
absolutely  depends  the  salvation  of  the  revolution  and 
the  perpetuity  of  the  government  it  establishes.  The 
third  of  the  eight  principles  in  the  manifesto  issued  an- 
nouncing the  new  Ministry  and  signed  by  the  President 
of  the  Duma  and  all  of  the  Ministers  is  '  abolition  of  all 
class,  religious,  and  national  limitations.'  Answer." 

On  March  19th,  one  week  after  the  Revolution  began, 
and  the  day  after  I  sent  my  cable  to  the  Department,  I 
called  on  Goutchkoff,  the  Minister  of  War.  When  I 
handed  my  card  to  the  officer  in  charge  of  the  outer  room 
I  was  told  that  the  Minister  was  in  conference  with  dele- 


92      RUSSIA  FROM  THE  AMERICAN  EMBASSY 

gates  from  the  Workmen's  and  Soldiers'  Deputies,  but 
the  officer  sent  in  my  card.  Goutchkoff  came  out  prompt- 
ly and  after  receiving  me  courteously  conducted  me  to  a 
private  room.  I  saw  that  he  was  in  a  nervous  state  and, 
knowing  that  he  had  excused  himself  from  a  delegation 
to  see  me,  lost  no  time  in  stating  the  object  of  my  visit. 
I  asked  him  if  recognition  by  my  Government  would 
strengthen  the  Provisional  Government  of  Russia.  He 
replied  with  alacrity  that  it  would  and  asked  if  it  could 
be  done  on  the  following  day.  I  told  him  "No,"  that  I 
had  only  sent  the  cable  the  preceding  evening  and  could 
not  expect  a  reply  before  the  22nd  or  23rd.  With  much 
agitation  he  expressed  doubt  as  to  whether  the  Provi- 
sional Government  could  survive  until  that  time.  I  asked 
him  how  many  soldiers  he  had  in  Petrograd.  He  replied 
about  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  thousand,  but  ex- 
pressed the  fear  that  the  Government  could  not  rely 
upon  more  than  twenty-five  thousand  of  these  soldiers 
being  loyal  to  it,  while  the  remainder  would  side  with 
the  Workmen's  and  Soldiers'  Deputies.  I  expressed 
regret  at  my  inability  to  recognize  the  Provisional  Gov- 
ernment without  authority  from  my  Government. 
Goutchkoff  was  about  fifty -five  years  of  age.  He  is  of 
medium  height  with  keen  gray  eyes  and  close  cropped 
iron  gray  whiskers.  His  eye  and  the  set  of  his  jaw  gives 
evidence  of  decided  courage.  He  is  a  member  of  a  dis- 
tinguished Russian  family,  an  elder  brother  having  been 
a  popular  and  efficient  Mayor  of  Moscow  who  was  at 
the  time  of  our  interview  a  leading  manufacturer  of  that 
city  who  had  married  a  Miss  Tertiakoff,  the  daughter  of 
the  man  who  gave  to  Moscow  the  celebrated  gallery 
bearing  his  name.  I  had  visited  Moscow  in  January, 
1917,  and  had  been  shown  through  the  Tertiakoff  Gal- 
lery by  this  brother.  Goutchkoff  was  the  leader  of  the 
Octobrist  Party  and  was  the  man  who,  in  company  with 


AMERICAN  RECOGNITION  93 

Shulgin,  had  visited  the  Emperor  at  Pskoff  as  the  repre- 
sentative of  the  Provisional  Government  to  demand  his 
abdication.  He  had  joined  the  Boer  Army  in  the  South 
African  War  in  1899,  where  he  had  made  a  brilliant 
record.  When  I  called  upon  him  I  was  not  aware  that 
the  celebrated  General  Order  No.  1  to  the  Army  had 
been  issued.  This  was  the  order  that  contributed  more 
than  anything  else  toward  the  demoralization  of  the 
superb  Russian  army  because  it  demoted  all  the  officers 
to  the  ranks  and  permitted  the  army  organizations  down 
to  the  smallest  units  to  elect  their  commanding  officers. 
The  Workmen's  and  Soldiers'  Deputies  had  sent  this 
order  out  without  the  knowledge  of  the  Minister  of  War 
and  when  he  learned  of  it  he  found  himself  powerless 
to  countermand  it.  This  caused  him  great  distress  as  he 
had  been  trained  as  a  soldier  and  believed  in  strict 
discipline. 

On  March  22nd,  four  days  after  the  dispatch,  I  re- 
ceived a  sweepingly  favorable  reply  to  my  cable.  That 
was  a  record  time  both  for  the  cable  service  and  for  the 
State  Department.  I  subsequently  learned  that  on  its 
receipt  it  had  at  once  been  submitted  by  the  Secretary 
to  the  President  and  by  him  had  been  brought  up  at  a 
Cabinet  Meeting. 

I  immediatley  called  up  the  Foreign  Office,  secured  an 
appointment  and  an  hour  later  told  Foreign  Minister 
Miliukoff  the  contents  of  the  cable  he  had  had  sent  for 
me  and  of  the  favorable  reply.  I  said  that  as  Ambas- 
sador I  formally  recognized  the  Provisional  Government, 
but  that  I  desired  to  be  presented  to  the  President,  Prince 
Lvoff,  and  to  present  to  him  my  eight  Secretaries  and 
Attaches  and  my  Military  and  Naval  Attaches  in  full 
uniform  as  I  thought  it  important  to  make  the  recogni- 
tion as  formal  as  possible.  He  not  only  agreed  but  sug- 
gested that  I  make  the  formal  recognition  not  merely 


94      RUSSIA  FROM  THE  AMERICAN  EMBASSY 

to  President  Lvoff,  but  to  the  entire  Council  of  Min- 
isters. I  told  him  that  would  be  very  gratifying  to  me, 
and  he  at  once  arranged  for  me  to  meet  the  Ministry 
at  the  Marensky  Palace  at  4 :30  that  afternoon. 

At  that  hour  I  accordingly  appeared  before  the  Min- 
istry, having  driven  up  the  Nevsky  Prospect  with  my 
coachman  in  full  livery  on  the  box  and  the  chasseur  also 
in  full  livery  standing  behind  me.  I  was  accompanied  by 
the  Counselor,  the  four  Secretaries,  the  Military  and 
Naval  Attaches  in  full  uniform,  the  Commercial  Attache 
and  two  Attaches  on  special  mission.  Upon  being  pre- 
sented to  Prince  Lvoff  I  made  the  formal  recognition  in 
these  words: 

' '  Mr.  President  of  the  Council  of  Ministers : 

"I  have  the  honor  as  American  Ambassador,  and  as 
representative  of  the  Government  of  the  United  States 
accredited  to  Russia,  to  hereby  make  formal  recognition 
of  the  Provisional  Government  of  all  the  Russias  and 
to  state  that  it  gives  me  pleasure  officially  and  personally 
to  continue  intercourse  with  Russia  through  the  medium 
of  the  new  Government.  May  the  cordial  relations  exist- 
ing between  the  two  countries  continue  to  obtain  and  may 
they  prove  mutually  satisfactory  and  beneficial." 

After  a  brief  speech  of  appreciation  by  Foreign  Min- 
ister Miliukoff,  the  short  but  impressive  ceremony  con- 
cluded. Two  days  later,  with  like  ceremony,  the  British, 
French  and  Italian  Embassies  made  formal  recognition 
of  the  new  Government  to  the  Council  of  Ministers. 

Important  as  I  felt  this  recognition  of  the  Provisional 
Government  by  the  United  States  to  be  I  did  not  at  the 
time  fully  realize  its  significance.  It  should  be  borne  in 
mind  that  at  the  time  of  this  recognition  our  country 
was  still  neutral  as  we  did  not  enter  the  war  until  fifteen 
days  later.  This  recognition  undoubtedly  had  a  power- 
ful influence  in  placing  America  in  a  position  to  enter 


AMERICAN  RECOGNITION  95 

the  war  backed  by  a  practically  unanimous  public  opin- 
ion. There  can  be  no  doubt  that  there  would  have  been 
serious  opposition  to  our  allying  ourselves  with  an  ab- 
solute monarchy  to  make  war  no  matter  in  what  cause. 
President  Wilson  recognized  this  by  his  eloquent  refer- 
ence to  Russia  in  his  soul-stirring  address  to  the  Con- 
gress made  April  2nd. 

Moreover  this  recognition  of  the  Provisional  Govern- 
ment, followed  as  it  was  within  forty-eight  hours  by 
like  action  on  the  part  of  the  British,  French  and  Italian 
Governments,  undoubtedly  gave  strong  moral  encourage- 
ment to  the  new  Government,  which,  as  the  above  account 
of  my  interview  with  Goutchkoff,  Minister  of  War,  shows, 
was  in  a  situation  of  extreme  peril.  It  was  menaced  on 
the  one  side  by  forces  desiring  the  restoration  of  the 
Monarchy  and  on  the  other  by  the  threat  of  the  Work- 
men's and  Soldiers'  Deputies  to  take  the  administration 
of  affairs  into  their  own  hands.  If  either  of  these  hostile 
elements  had  succeeded  an  armistice  with  the  Central 
Empires  would  have  followed  immediately  and  conse- 
quently Germany  would  have  sent  her  hundred-odd  divi- 
sions from  the  Eastern  to  the  Western  front  almost  a 
//year  sooner  than  they  were  sent  and  at  a  time  when  the 
Allied  Armies  were  particularly  ill  prepared  to  resist 
them. 


CHAPTER  VH 
THE  COUNCIL  OF  WORKMEN  AND  SOLDIERS'  DEPUTIES 

MY  recognition  of  the  Provisional  Government  de- 
scribed in  the  preceding  chapter  had  taken  place  just 
eleven  days  before  President  Wilson  delivered  his  mem- 
orable message  to  the  Joint  Session  of  Congress  recom- 
mending that  a  state  of  war  be  declared  to  exist  with 
Germany. 

I  addressed  the  following  letter  to  Miliukoff  on 
April  5th : 

"Excellency: 

"I  am  just  in  receipt  by  cable  of  the  following  noble 
sentiment  eloquently  expressed  by  President  "Wilson  in 
his  address  to  Congress  delivered  the  evening  of  April 
2nd  to  the  two  houses  in  joint  session. 

"  'A  steadfast  concert  for  peace  can  never  be  main- 
tained except  by  a  partnership  of  democratic  nations. 
No  autocratic  government  could  be  trusted  to  keep  faith 
within  it  or  observe  its  covenants.  It  must  be  a  league 
of  honor,  a  partnership  of  opinion.  Intrigue  could  eat 
its  vitals  away.  The  plottings  of  inner  circles  who  could 
plan  what  they  would  and  render  account  to  no  one 
would  be  a  corruption  seated  at  its  very  heart.  Only 
free  peoples  can  hold  their  purpose  and  their  honor 
steady  to  a  common  end  and  prefer  the  interests  of  man- 
kind to  any  narrow  interest  of  their  own.  Does  not 
every  American  feel  that  assurance  has  been  added  to 
our  hope  for  the  future  peace  of  the  world  by  the  won- 
derful and  heartening  things  that  have  been  happening 
within  the  last  few  weeks  in  Russia?  Russia  was  known 

96 


COUNCIL  OF  WORKMEN  AND  SOLDIERS      97 

by  those  who  knew  her  best  to  have  been  always  in  fact 
democratic  at  heart,  in  all  the  vital  habits  of  her  thought, 
in  all  the  intimate  relationships  of  her  people  that  spoke 
their  natural  instinct,  their  habitual  attitude  towards 
life.  The  autocracy  that  crowned  the  summit  of  her  po- 
litical structure  long  as  it  had  stood  and  terrible  as  was 
the  reality  of  its  power,  was  not  in  fact  Russian  in  origin, 
character  or  purpose,  and  now  it  has  been  shaken  off  and 
the  great  generous  Russian  people  have  been  added  in 
all  their  native  majesty  and  might  to  the  forces  that 
are  fighting  for  freedom  in  the  world,  for  justice  and 
for  peace.  Here  is  a  fit  partner  for  a  league  of  honor.' 

1 1 1  thought  this  would  be  of  interest  to  you  and  hasten 
to  communicate  it.  In  my  judgment  it  is  not  only  thrill- 
ing and  impressive  but  should  be  an  inspiration  to  the 
Russian  people  and  prompt  them  to  a  patriotic  support 
of  the  Government  which  you  and  your  Colleagues  are 
so  ably  and  faithfully  administering. 

"With  assurances  of  personal  and  official  esteem,  I  am, 
"Yours  sincerely, 

"David  R.  Francis." 

This  same  day  I  also  forwarded  to*  the  Minister  to  use 
as  he  saw  fit  this  wise  message  to  the  workingmen  of 
Russia  from  Samuel  Gompers : 

"Washington,  April  2,  1917.  N.  S.  Tschedzi,  Petro- 
grad,  Representative  of  working  people  of  Russia.  Ac- 
cept this  message  to  the  men  of  labor  of  Russia.  We 
send  greeting.  The  established  liberty  of  Russia  finds 
a  warm  response  in  the  hearts  of  America's  workers. 
We  rejoice  at  the  intelligence,  courage  and  conviction 
of  a  people  who  even  while  concentrating  every  effort 
upon  defense  against  foreign  aggression  have  reorgan- 
ized their  own  institutions  upon  principles  of  freedom 
and  democracy,  but  it  is  impossible  to  achieve  the  ideal 


98      RUSSIA  FROM  THE  AMERICAN  EMBASSV 

state  immediately.  When  the  right  foundation  has  been 
established  the  masses  can  daily  utilize  the  opportu- 
nities for  progress,  more  complete  justice  and  greater 
liberty.  Freedom  is  achieved  in  meeting  the  problems 
of  life  and  work.  It  cannot  be  established  by  a  revolu- 
tion only.  It  is  the  product  of  evolution.  Even  in  the 
Republic  of  the  United  States  of  America,  the  highest 
ideals  of  freedom  are  incomplete,  but  we  have  the  will 
and  the  opportunity.  In  the  name  of  America's  workers, 
whose  watchwords  are  Justice,  Freedom  and  Humanity, 
we  plead  that  Russia's  workers  and  masses  shall  main- 
tain what  you  have  already  achieved,  and  practically  and 
rationally  solve  the  problem  of  to-day  and  safeguard 
the  future  from  the  reactionary  forces  who  would  gladly 
take  advantage  of  your  lack  of  unity  to  reestablish  the 
old  regime  of  royalty,  reaction,  tyranny  and  injustice. 
Our  best  wishes  are  with  Russia  in  her  new  opportunity. 

' '  Samuel  Gompers, 
" President  American  Federation  of  Labor." 

In  a  dispatch  to  the  Secretary  of  April  17,  1917,  I 
made  the  following  observations  on  some  of  the  initial 
experiences  of  the  new  Government  in  its  efforts  to  con- 
solidate its  power: 

1  'For  a  week  or  ten  days  after  our  recognition  of  the 
Provisional  Government  the  tension  continued  very 
great,  as  the  Council  of  Ministers  or  Provisional  Govern- 
ment was  trying  to  establish  itself  but  was  so  fearful 
of  the  consequences  of  a  test  of  strength  with  the  Work- 
ingmen  and  Soldiers'  Deputies  that  it  proceeded  very 
cautiously.  The  soldiers  were  permitted  to  parade  with 
banners  and  bands  throughout  the  city  and  the  working- 
men  if  returning  to  work  at  all  were  making  unreason- 
able demands  as  to  wages  and  hours  and  in  some  or  many 
Distances  were  selecting  their  own  foremen.  There  has 
been,  however,  no  contest  between  these  two  authorities 
.up  to  this  time  and  I  think  there  is  likely  to  be  none. 


COUNCIL  OF  WORKMEN  AND  SOLDIERS      99 

The  Provisional  Government  or  Council  of  Ministers 
has  been  gaining  strength  from  day  to  day;  they  have 
made  two  visits  in  a  body  to  the  front  and  at  this  writing 
the  entire  situation  is  much  better  than  it  has  been  at 
any  day  since  March  12th,  when  the  first  regiment 
mutinied. 

"Representatives  of  the  Workinginen's  Party  and  of 
the  Soldiers'  continue  in  session  daily  at  the  Duma  or 
Tauride  Palace,  and  I  think  meet  in  the  Duma  Hall.  On 
Friday  last,  April  13th,  this  body  passed  by  an  over- 
whelming majority  a  resolution  favoring  a  vigorous 
prosecution  of  the  war  to  a  successful  issue  and  either 
the  same  day  or  the  day  after  adopted  another  resolu- 
tion endorsing  the  Provisional  Government. 

'  *  The  general  impression  is  that  Rodzianko  is  in  favor 
of  a  Constitutional  Monarchy  and  that  Miliukoff  is  also 
so  inclined,  but  that  Minister  of  Justice  Kerensky,  who 
is  a  Social  Revolutionist,  and  who  has  conducted  himself 
most  admirably,  favors  a  republic. 

"It  has  been  my  effort,  and  in  such  effort  there  has 
been  no  cessation,  to  impress  upon  all  the  importance  of 
a  vigorous  prosecution  of  the  war  and  to  subordinate 
thereto  all  questions  as  to  the  rights  of  races  or  the  recog- 
nition of  classes. 

"The  Jews  have  undoubtedly  been  subjected  to  many 
injustices  and  unjust  restrictions  in  Russia,  and  all  fair- 
minded  people  are  pleased  that  most  if  not  all  of  such 
restrictions  have  been  removed.  The  prejudice  against 
the  race,  however,  has  by  no  means  been  eradicated; 
it  pervades  the  peasants  to  a  wonderful  extent  and  that 
prejudice  will  be  fanned  into  flame  by  opponents  of  the 
present  regime  if  any  reason  therefor  is  given  or  can 
be  charged  with  any  appearance  of  truth. 

"In  reply  to  your  cable  concerning  a  separate  peace, 
received  the  14th,  I  cabled  the  result  of  a  conference  with 
Miliukoff.  While  I  was  talking  with  him  in  the  Foreign 
Office,  delegations  of  British  and  French  Socialists  were 
awaiting  an  audience  and  subsequently  he  phoned  me 
that  they  had  come  to  Russia  for  the  purpose  of  advis- 
ing Russian  Socialists  to  push  the  war  vigorously  and  to 
give  no  thought  of  a  separate  peace  as  the  Socialists  of 


100    RUSSIA  FROM  THE  AMERICAN  EMBASSY 

Germany  and  Austria-Hungary  were  more  devoted  to 
their  respective  countries  than  they  were  to  socialistic 
doctrines,  or  at  least  were  pursuing  the  policy  of  achiev- 
ing a  victory  for  the  Central  Empires  first." 

The  people  of  Petrograd  learned  of  America's  en- 
trance into  the  war  before  I  received  official  notification 
tliereof. 

The  President's  address  delivered  on  April  2nd,  1917, 
to  the  Joint  Session  of  Congress  not  only  aroused  great 
enthusiasm  in  America  but  electrified  all  of  Europe. 
There  had  been  no  doubt  in  my  mind  about  America's 
coming  into  the  war  since  President  Wilson  had  severed 
diplomatic  relations  with  Germany  and  given  Bernstorff 
his  passports. 

Our  declaration  of  a  state  of  war  existing  with  the 
German  Empire,  coming  as  it  did  ten  or  fifteen  days 
after  the  Russian  Revolution,  and  our  recognition  of  the 
Provisional  Government  of  Russia  was  not  only  hailed 
with  delight  in  Russia  but  was  vastly  strengthening  to 
the  Provisional  Government,  and  served  to  dissipate  all 
fear  of  the  restoration  of  the  monarchy. 

There  were  many  assemblages  of  people  throughout 
the  country  and  wherever  they  were  held  there  were 
demonstrations  of  great  joy.  There  were  some  "  doubting 
Thomases,"  as  there  were  in  our  own  country,  as  to  the 
extent  of  the  part  we  would  perform,  and  some  of  these 
pointed  to  Japan's  course  after  she  had  declared  war 
against  the  Central  Empires,  but  the  great  bulk  of  the 
Russian  people  were  aroused  to  a  high  state  of  enthu- 
siasm ;  if  they  had  thought  that  America  would  perform 
so  important  a  part  in  the  war  as  to  bring  the  Central 
Empires  to  their  knees  within  eighteen  months  Russia 
would  no  doubt  have  remained  in  the  war  to  the  end. 

I  was  frequently  called  upon  to  make  speeches,  and 
being  well  acquainted  with  the  American  spirit,  pre- 


COUNCIL  OF  WORKMEN  AND  SOLDIERS    101 

dieted  on  every  occasion  that  America  having  finally 
entered  the  conflict  would  prosecute  it  to  a  successful 
finish.  Our  people  not  only  surprised  and  astonished  the 
people  of  Europe  by  the  rapidity  and  magnitude  of  their 
operations  but  even  surprised  themselves. 

On  Sunday  evening,  April  22nd,  while  I  was  enter- 
taining some  guests  at  the  Embassy  my  colored  valet, 
Philip  Jordan,  came  to  me  and  said  that  the  police  official 
in  charge  of  the  district  had  called  up  to  warn  me  that 
an  anarchist  mob  was  gathering  with  the  intention  of 
attacking  the  Embassy.  Their  object  was  to  avenge 
themselves  upon  the  American  Ambassador  for  a  death 
sentence  which  had  been  passed  upon  one  "Muni"  in 
San  Francisco.  I  had  never  heard  of  "Muni,"  and  did 
not  know  what  it  was  all  about.  I  instructed  Jordan  to 
reply  to  the  police  officer  that  I  thanked  him  for  his 
warning,  but  considered  that  it  was  his  duty  rather  than 
mine  to  protect  the  Embassy.  I  then  told  him  to  load 
my  revolver  and  bring  it  to  me.  In  a  few  minutes  the 
police  official  who  had  telephoned  arrived  at  the  Em- 
bassy with  a  squad  of  police.  Revolver  in  hand  I  went 
to  meet  the  police  officer,  and  told  him  to  station  his  men 
at  the  Embassy  gate,  with  instructions  to  shoot  anyone 
who  tried  to  enter  the  building  without  my  permission. 
I  stated  I  would  take  my  stand  inside  prepared  to  shoot 
anyone  who  attempted  to  cross  the  threshold. 

The  mob  never  reached  the  Embassy  although  they 
started  for  it.  Reports  also  differed  as  to  how  they  were 
dispersed  and  why  they  did  not  carry  out  their  inten- 
tion. One  explanation  was  that  while  they  were  gather- 
ing on  the  Nevsky  in  front  of  the  Kazan  Cathedral,  some 
Cossacks  happened  by  and,  attracted  by  the  crowd  as 
Russians  always  are,  joined  in  and  inquired  what  was 
on  foot.  When  told  that  the  crowd  was  going  to  attack 
the  American  Embassy  because  a  socialist  was  to  be 


102    RUSSIA  FROM  THE  AMERICAN  EMBASSY 

hung  in  America,  the  Cossacks  replied,  '  *  Not  if  we  know 
it,"  or  words  to  that  effect,  and  began  attacking  the  mob 
which  scattered  in  all  directions. 

I  later  learned  with  amusement  that  some  of  my 
friends  had  circulated  a  very  much  more  sensational 
version  of  this  episode.  According  to  this  version,  the 
angry  mob  did  reach  the  Embassy  where  I  met  them 
with  a  threat  to  shoot  the  first  man  who  crossed  the 
threshold  and  thus  violated  American  territory,  and  that 
thereupon  the  mob  slunk  away.  When  in  Paris  on  my 
way  home  I  found  this  was  the  version  of  the  story  which 
had  been  circulated  in  the  Peace  Conference  circles.  I 
tried  to  correct  it,  but  with  little  success.  Everyone 
seemed  to  prefer  the  more  sensational  story,  so  I  sup- 
pose I  shall  have  to  resign  myself  to  this  heroic  role. 
It,  at  any  rate,  truthfully  represents  my  intentions.  All 
I  lacked  was  the  opportunity  to  carry  them  out. 

Two  days  afterwards  the  Spanish  and  Japanese  Am- 
bassadors and  the  Chinese  Minister  came  to  express  their 
solicitude  and  regrets  at  the  threatened  indignity  to  the 
Embassy  and  myself.  The  same  day  the  Minister  of 
Justice,  Alexander  Kerensky,  called  and  expressed  the 
sympathy  of  the  Government  and  their  indignation  at 
the  threat  to  which  I  had  been  subjected. 

Alexander  Kerensky  performed  noble,  patriotic  and 
effective  service  in  this  critical  stage  in  the  life  of  the 
Provisional  Government. 

I  met  Kerensky  at  the  time  I  formally  recognized  the 
Provisional  Government.  He  was  a  young  man,  thirty- 
four  years  of  age,  with  a  smooth-shaven  face,  not  over 
five  feet  ten  inches  in  height,  and  of  extremely  nervous 
temperament.  He  had  been  the  leader  of  the  Socialist 
Revolutionists  in  the  Duma,  where  he  had  shown  elo- 
quence of  a  high  order;  his  speeches  always  commanded 
attention,  because  they  were  logical  and  delivered  in  a 


COUNCIL  OF  WORKMEN  AND  SOLDIERS    103 

good  voice,  and  they  were  always  characterized  by  a 
vehement  opposition  to  the  Czar's  government.  Conse- 
quently the  Workingmen's  and  Soldiers'  Deputies  had 
more  confidence  in  Kerensky  than  in  any  other  member 
of  the  Provisional  Government. 

Numerous  instances  of  his  influence  with  the  Work- 
ingmen's and  Soldiers'  Deputies  and  with  the  populace 
were  told  me. 

Baron  Rosen,  who  had  been  Russian  Ambassador  at 
Washington,  one  day  came  to  the  American  Embassy 
fresh  from  one  of  these  scenes.  He  told  me  that  he  had 
seen  a  mob  on  the  point  of  killing  an  officer,  when  Ker- 
ensky rescued  the  doomed  man,  and  speaking  to  the 
angry  crowd  said  he  was  the  Minister  of  Justice  and 
as  long  as  he  held  that  office  no  man  should  be  deprived 
of  life  except  after  conviction  in  a  fair  trial. 

The  Ministry  of  the  Provisional  Government  frequent- 
ly called  upon  Kerensky  to  exert  his  influence  at  this 
time,  and  had  it  not  been  for  his  efforts  and  the  recog- 
nition by  America  of  the  Provisional  Government,  it 
would  have  been  deposed  and  the  revolution  which  took 
place  the  following  November,  eight  months  later,  would 
have  occurred  in  March,  1917. 

Kerensky,  whom  I  came  to  know  well,  and  with  whom 
I  had  close  relations  during  the  regime  of  the  Provi- 
sional Government,  did  such  valiant  work  that  we  should 
not  be  harsh  in  our  condemnation  of  his  subsequent  mis- 
takes. When  Goutchkoff  resigned  as  Minister  of  War, 
Kerensky  succeeded  him.  Kerensky  was  responsible  for 
the  decree  abolishing  the  death  penalty  in  the  army,  and 
although  he  issued  a  later  decree,  at  the  instance  of 
Korniloff,  reinstating  the  death  penalty,  his  heart  was 
too  soft  to  command  an  army. 

I  well  remember  being  present  when  Kerensky  was  ad- 
dressing a  large  audience  in  the  Miransky  Theater.  He 


104   RUSSIA  FROM  THE  AMERICAN  EMBASSY 

was  interrupted  three  times  by  a  man  in  the  gallery,  to 
whom  he  paid  no  attention  at  the  first  two  interruptions. 
The  audience  was  spell-bound,  but  the  man  in  the  gallery 
insisted  on  interrupting  the  speaker  the  third  time,  call- 
ing out,  "What  about  restoring  the  death  penalty!" 
Then  Kerensky,  pointing  in  the  direction  whence  the 
voice  came,  remarked,  "Wait  until  I  order  a  man  put 
to  death,"  thereby  demonstrating  that  his  feelings  were 
still  with  the  decree  abolishing  the  death  penalty. 

After  he  became  War  Minister  he  made  several  visits 
to  the  Eastern  front,  and  at  one  time  took  command  of 
the  army  and  ordered  an  advance  which  was  successful. 
But  he  never  countermanded  Order  No.  1,  which  demoted 
all  officers  to  the  ranks  and  permitted  the  soldiers  to 
elect  their  own  officers,  and  made  provision  for  the  of- 
ficers so  elected  to  be  removed  by  the  soldiers  when  they 
saw  fit. 

I  was  lunching  with  Kerensky  in  Terestchenko's  apart- 
ment one  day  when  Nekrassoff,  Bakhmatieff,  Ambas- 
sador of  the  Provisional  Government  at  Washington, 
and  others  were  present. 

Terestchenko  's  apartment  faced  the  Quay,  along  which 
a  procession  was  passing.  As  we  watched  the  parade 
I  asked  Kerensky  if  Lenin  and  Trotzky  were  not  both 
Jews.  Trotzky  I  knew  was,  and  I  had  heard  that  Lenin's 
mother  was  of  Jewish  descent.  Kerensky  promptly  re- 
plied that  he  went  to  school  with  Lenin,  and  that  Lenin 
was  of  pure  Russian  blood.  He  said  his  first  recollection 
of  political  life  was  of  being  in  Lenin's  father's  house 
at  the  age  of  six  when  the  house  was  searched  for  Lenin's 
elder  brother,  who  had  made  an  attempt  upon  the  life 
of  Alexander  III.  The  brother  was  afterwards  arrested 
and  shot. 

This  reminds  me  of  a  report  which  was  current  in 
Petrograd  at  the  time  Kerensky  escaped.  It  was  said 


COUNCIL  OF  WORKMEN  AND  SOLDIERS    105 

that  Kerensky  could  have  apprehended  Lenin  when  the 
attempted  revolution  of  July  16th  and  17th,  1917,  oc- 
curred. Trotzky  was  arrested  at  the  time  and  impris- 
oned, although  later  released.  Lenin  was  never  arrested 
by  the  Provisional  Government  although  he  was  contin- 
ually trying  to  undermine  it.  During  the  Bolshevik 
Revolution  of  November,  1917,  all  the  other  Ministers 
were  arrested  and  imprisoned  in  Saint  Peter  and  Paul 
Fortress,  but  Kerensky  escaped.  It  was  rumored  that 
Lenin  and  Trotzky  permitted  Kerensky  to  escape  in  re- 
turn for  his  having  permitted  Lenin  to  escape  in  the 
previous  July. 

The  next  day  after  the  threatened  attack  of  April 
22nd,  on  the  Embassy,  a  delegation  of  one  hundred  or 
more  school  children  called  and  through  one  of  their 
number  made  a  little  speech  condemning  the  threatened 
action  of  the  mob.  I  had  learned  meantime  that  the 
"Muni"  for  whose  death  sentence  the  mob  proposed  to 
make  me  vicariously  responsible  was  Mooney,  the  labor 
leader,  who  had  been  convicted  of  responsibility  for  the 
bomb  outrage  in  California.  I  explained  to  all  my  Rus- 
sian visitors  that  while  I  was  not  familiar  with  the  details 
of  this  particular  case  that  in  America  persons  were  con- 
demned to  death  for  two  causes  only — murder  and 
treason.  That  free  speech  and  free  press  were  per- 
mitted. That  if  any  person  so  used  these  privileges  as 
to  menace  the  safety  of  other  individuals,  of  the  Govern- 
ment, or  of  society  he  was  bound  over  under  bond  to  keep 
the  peace  if  an  American  citizen,  and  if  an  alien  he  was 
deported  to  the  country  whence  he  came. 
On  May  1st,  I  said  in  a  letter  to  my  son  Perry : 
* '  Today  is  labor  day  throughout  Europe  and  is  a  very 
strict  holiday.  The  guests  in  the  hotels  were  told  yes- 
terday that  no  meals  would  be  served  today.  The  streets 
were  and  are  now  practically  deserted  but  the  crowds 


106    RUSSIA  FROM  THE  AMERICAN  EMBASSY 

have  congregated  at  several  places  listening  to  speeches, 
some  of  which  are  sensible  and  some  otherwise.  Many 
allowances,  however,  must  be  made  for  people  who  have 
been  living  under  an  absolute  monarchy  all  of  their  lives 
and  who  have  never  been  permitted  the  liberty  of  free 
speech,  which  everyone  has  in  our  country. 

1 '  This  government  is  still  doing  a  great  deal  of  con- 
structive work  but  it  has  not  yet  asserted  its  authority 
with  any  force.  There  are  daily  meetings  of  the  Com- 
mittee representing  the  Workingmen's  and  Soldiers' 
Deputies  and  the  membership  of  that  Committee,  I  am 
told,  is  over  two  thousand.  An  ultra-Socialist  named 
Lenin  has  been  doing  a  great  deal  of  foolish  talking  and 
has  advised  his  hearers  to  kill  all  people  who  have  prop- 
erty and  refuse  to  divide.  We  are  living  somewhat  in  sus- 
pense. Lenin's  followers  are  an  unknown  quantity.  We 
occasionally  hear  rumors  of  violence  being  planned.  One 
up-rising  was  said  to  be  fixed  for  today,  but  at  this  hour, 
5  p.m.,  it  has  not  materialized.  My  relations  with  the 
Ministers  are  very  close,  and  I  feel  justified  in  stating 
that  the  American  Embassy  never  stood  so  well  in  Rus- 
sia as  it  does  today." 

In  the  huge  Labor  Parade  which  was  the  feature  of  the 
day  there  were  many  banners  bearing  the  inscription 
"Peace  with  Victory  but  without  Annexation  or 
Contribution." 

Two  days  later,  on  May  3rd,  Foreign  Minister  Miliu- 
koff  issued  the  following  statement  on  Russia's  war  aims 
apropos  of  America's  entrance  into  the  conflict. 

"I  never  doubted  that  the  United  States  could  join 
only  the  powers  of  the  Entente.  In  the  definition  of  the 
objects  of  the  war  by  President  Wilson  and  the  states- 
men of  the  Continent,  there  never  appeared  any  diversity 
of  opinion.  As  President  Wilson,  so  also  Briand, 
Asquith  and  Grey  recognized  as  the  fundamental  object 


of  the  war — the  prevention  of  war;  that  is  to-day,  the 
finding  of  peaceful  means  for  the  settlement  of  conflicts 
and  the  creation  of  a  new  and  equitable  organization  of 
nations,  founded  on  the  triumph  of  justice  in  inter- 
national relations.  The  best  pledge  of  America's  enter- 
ing the  ranks  of  the  Allied  Powers  was  undoubtedly  this 
accord  of  views  in  the  domain  of  the  conception  of  the 
war.  Assuredly  the  formula  *  Peace  without  Victory,' 
proposed  by  President  Wilson  is  unadmissible  for  the 
Allies,  but  it  must  be  noticed  in  this  connection  that  the 
logical  development  of  all  the  ideas  on  which  are  founded 
the  President's  statements  imperiously  demands  the  con- 
tinuation of  the  war  by  the  Allies  to  a  victorious  end. 
Only  victory  is  able  to  give  the  powers  of  the  Entente 
the  possibility  of  solving  those  broad  international  ques- 
tions, the  settlement  of  which  President  Wilson  himself 
recognizes  as  necessary  for  the  good  of  humanity.  It 
must  not  be  forgotten  that  in  her  declarations  concerning 
her  efforts  for  peace  Germany  remains  true  to  her  policy, 
wishing  to  march  ahead  of  a  pacified  universe.  The 
only  obstacle  to  the  development  of  normal  international 
relations  has  always  been  found  in  German  presentations 
to  world  domination,  to  the  enslavement  of  peoples  and 
to  the  transformation  of  all  Europe  according  to  the  law 
of  the  Prussian  mailed  fist.  Without  victory  over  Ger- 
many the  establishment  of  the  ideal  international  order 
of  which  President  Wilson  dreams  is  an  utopia  impos- 
sible of  realization. 

"The  concurrence  of  the  views  of  the  Allies  with  the 
fundamental  tenets  of  President  Wilson  is  not  only 
apparent  in  the  definition  of  these  ideal  aims  of  the  war, 
but  also  of  those  entirely  concrete  objects,  the  attainment 
of  which  is  to  lead  to  an  international  organization  of 
the  universe.  Not  one  of  the  Allies  can  be  reproached 
with  pursuing  a  policy  of  encroachment.  The  program 
of  the  Entente  powers  consists  in  the  realization  of  the 
leading  idea  of  President  Wilson  concerning  the  satis- 
faction of  all  national  aspirations,  the  restoration  of 
crushed  nations  and  trampled  rights.  The  Entente 
powers  must  fix  the  map  of  Europe  on  lines  that  will 
include  every  possibility  of  a  new  international  catas- 


108    RUSSIA  FROM  THE  AMERICAN  EMBASSY 

trophe.  I  repeat  it:  none  of  the  Allies  is  pursuing 
encroaching  aims ;  the  Allies  consider  necessary  only  the 
restitution  of  what  was  forcibly  amputated  or  the  settle- 
ment of  national  historical  questions.  Under  these  cir- 
cumstances it  is  possible  to  speak  of  'peace  without 
annexations'  only  under  the  condition  that  by  the  word 
'  annexation '  is  meant  a  conquest.  The  fixing  of  frontiers 
in  accord  with  national  endeavors  must  in  no  wise  be 
considered  a  conquest.  In  general  the  formula  'peace 
without  victory'  must  be  treated  with  great  precaution, 
this  formula  having  been  launched  by  the  Allies  of  Ger- 
man social  democracy  aar  corresponding  to  German 
interests  only. 

1  'Starting  from  the  principle  of  the  liberation  of 
nations  put  forward  by  President  Wilson  as  well  as  by 
the  Entente  Powers,  the  fundamental  task  of  the  Allies 
tends  toward  the  liquidation  of  Turkish  rule  over  op- 
pressed nations  beginning  with  the  Armenians,  who, 
after  the  victory,  must  be  under  the  care  of  Russia,  and 
toward  the  radical  reorganization  of  Austria-Hungary. 
One  of  the  natural  consequences  of  this  transformation 
will  be  the  uniting  of  the  Servian  territories ;  another — 
the  creation  of  a  Czecho-Slovak  state — bulwarks  against 
Germany 's  plans  of  conquering  non-German  lands.  Hun- 
gary and  German  Austria  must  contract  within  their 
ethnographical  frontiers  in  order  to  restore  Italians  to 
Italy,  Roumanians  to  Roumania,  and  the  Ukrainian 
provinces  to  Ukrainia. 

' '  All  these  ideas  are  entirely  conformable  to  the  ideas 
of  President  Wilson.  The  same  concurrence  of  views  is 
also  noticeable  in  the  Russian  endeavors  to  command 
the  Straits.  As  it  is  known,  President  Wilson  on  the 
question  of  the  Straits  did  not  only  take  the  position  of 
their  possible  neutralization,  but  also  of  their  transfer  to 
Russian  control.  In  the  establishment  of  Russian  domi- 
nation over  the  Straits  there  must  be  in  no  wise  seen  a 
manifestation  of  tendencies  of  conquest,  but  exclusively 
the  existence  of  a  national  object — the  necessity  of  com- 
manding the  gate  to  Russia  without  which  it  is  impossible 
to  guarantee  the  safety  of  the  Black  Sea.  When  this 
gate  shall  have  been  firmly  fortified,  we  shall  not  be 


COUNCIL  OF  WORKMEN  AND  SOLDIERS    109 

obliged  to  increase  the  defenses  of  the  shores  of  the 
Black  Sea,  or  to  maintain  a  powerful  battle  fleet.  As  far 
as  the  neutralization  of  the  Straits  is  concerned,  this 
solution  of  the  question  would  give  access  to  the  Black 
Sea  to  foreign  battleships,  which  is  precisely  the  consid- 
eration impelling  Russia  to  prefer  to  a  neutralization  the 
retention  of  the  Straits  in  the  hands  of  a  weak  power. 
Occupying  Constantinople  as  mere  parasites  and  ruling 
by  the  sole  force  of  conquest  the  Turks  cannot,  in  opposi- 
tion to  the  Russian  aims,  allege  their  national  rights." 

This  statement,  although  only  a  reiteration  of  the  dec- 
laration made  by  the  Provisional  Government  on  April 
10th,  proved  to  be  a  bombshell.  I  had  known  for  some 
time  that  a  serious  difference  of  opinion  in  the  Cabinet 
was  threatened  on  the  question  of  annexation  or  foreign 
policy  at  the  close  of  the  war.  I  knew  that  Miliukoff,  as 
stated  in  this  interview,  claimed  that  Russia  must  be 
given  Constantinople  in  accordance  with  the  promise  of 
the  Allies  to  the  Imperial  Government  before  the  Revo- 
lution. Kerensky,  however,  demanded  the  neutraliza- 
tion of  the  Dardanelles  and  was  opposed  to  any  annexa- 
tions to  Russian  territory  as  a  result  of  the  war.  I  knew 
that  the  Ministry  had  been  about  equally  divided  between 
these  two  positions,  but  had  understood  that  the  matter 
had  been  decided  in  favor  of  Kerensky 's  position — that 
is  against  annexations.  The  British  Ambassador,  Sir 
George  Buchanan,  had  told  me  a  few  days  before  that  he 
could  say  nothing  because  the  Allies  had  promised  Con- 
stantinople to  Russia  before  the  Revolution,  when  Rus- 
sia's policy  with  regard  to  Constantinople  was  well 
denned  and  well  known.  He  added,  however,  that  he 
personally  hoped  and  believed  that  the  result  would  be 
the  neutralization  of  the  Dardanelles. 

Miliukoff  gave  out  this  statement  without  consulting 
that  self-appointed  branch  of  the  Government,  the  Work- 
men's and  Soldiers'  Committee.  This  they  bitterly  re- 


110  RUSSIA  FROM  THE  AMERICAN  EMBASSY 

sented  and  instigated  hostile  demonstrations  against 
him.  As  I  wrote  the  Secretary  at  the  time : 

"The  offense  seems  to  have  been  that  the  Provisional 
Government  presumed  to  make  a  statement  without  con- 
sulting with  and  obtaining  the  consent  of  the  Working- 
men  's  Committee.  In  the  midst  of  these  hostile  demon- 
strations I  called  upon  Miliukoff,  who  was  in  a  meeting 
of  the  Council  of  Ministers  in  the  War  Department,  and 
told  him  and  Goutchkoff,  the  Minister  of  War,  in  effect 
that  having  risked  my  judgment  in  asking  my  Govern- 
ment to  recognize  the  Provisional  Government  and  hav- 
ing done  all  I  could  to  assist  the  Ministry,  I  felt  con- 
siderable official  and  personal  responsibility  concerning 
a  stable  government  in  Russia  and  that  if  more  satis- 
factory evidence  was  not  given  of  such  government,  I 
should  feel  compelled  to  advise  my  Government  not 
to  extend  the  aid  which  I  have  been  continuously 
recommending. " 

I  was  endeavoring  to  secure  from  our  Government  a 
credit  to  the  Provisional  Government  of  Russia  and  had 
fair  prospects  of  success.  I  was  also  seeking  to  have  a 
practical  railroad  man  sent  to  Vladivostok  to  relieve  the 
congestion  at  that  point  and  generally  to  make  the  Si- 
berian railroad  more  efficient.  I  had  also  made  public 
addresses  urging  support  of  the  new  government  and 
continuation  of  the  war  to  a  successful  conclusion.  I 
had  spoken  thus  at  a  great  rally  at  the  City  Duma  only  a 
week  or  so  before.  I  spoke  with  the  Ministers  of  Foreign 
Affairs,  Finance,  Commerce  and  Industry  and  Ways 
and  Communications.  The  huge  hall  was  crowded  to 
overflowing  and  the  enthusiasm  great.  When  I  was 
introduced  as  the  first  Ambassador  to  recognize  the  Pro- 
visional Government,  I  received  an  ovation. 

Goutchkoff  seemed  very  much  pleased  at  the  statement 
and  asked  if  I  would  make  it  public,  but  before  I  could 


COUNCIL  OF  WORKMEN  AND  SOLDIERS    111 

answer  Miliukoff  remarked  that  he  trusted  there  would 
be  no  occasion  for  me  to  do  so  and  added  that  he  expected 
hostile  demonstrations  against  himself  at  the  meeting 
of  the  Ministry  to  be  held  that  evening,  May  3rd,  at  the 
Marinsky  Palace  at  9  o'clock,  when  there  would  be  a 
conference  with  the  Executive  Committee  of  the  Work- 
ingmen's  Committee;  that  his  friends  had  desired  to 
make  a  counter  demonstration  but  he  had  advised  against 
it.  The  conference  did  take  place  and  at  about  10  p.m. 
a  large  crowd,  including  some  soldiers  in  uniform  and 
armed,  appeared  in  front  of  the  Marinsky  Palace,  but 
the  friends  of  the  new  government  were  there  also  and 
in  larger  numbers  than  its  opponents.  In  response  to 
loud  calls  for  Miliukoff,  Nekrassoff,  Minister  of  Ways 
and  Communications,  appeared  and  addressed  the  crowd, 
stating  that  the  Government  was  confident  of  its  posi- 
tion and  would  continue  to  direct  affairs  according  to  its 
best  lights;  that  Miliukoff  was  in  the  meeting  and  was 
at  that  moment  engaged  in  conference,  but  would  address 
the  assemblage  in  a  few  minutes.  Miliukoff  soon  ap- 
peared and  was  given  an  ovation;  he  spoke  with  more 
confidence  and  firmness  than  on  previous  occasions  and 
was  very  much  gratified  at  the  reception  his  remarks 
met  with.  On  his  return  to  the  Foreign  Office  after  mid- 
night, he  found  a  crowd  assembled  there  and  made  an- 
other talk.  How  much  influence  my  talk  with  the  Minis- 
ters had  upon  their  assuming  for  the  first  time  a  rather 
independent  position  I  cannot  say,  but  the  report  has 
gained  circulation  and  credence  that  the  stand  taken  by 
the  Ministry  was  inspired  if  not  demanded  by  the  Ameri- 
can Ambassador.  I  give  you  this  for  what  it  is  worth 
and  must  rely  upon  your  knowledge  of  my  discretion  in 
whatever  I  did  or  said.  It  seemed  to  me  there  was  a 
crisis  in  the  situation  and  I  endeavored  to  meet  it  in 
the  most  effective  manner.  The  following  day,  Friday, 


114    RUSSIA  FROM  THE  AMERICAN  EMBASSY 

his  orders.  The  entire  garrison  of  the  city  spends  its 
time  riding  over  the  city  in  the  tram  cars,  refusing  to 
pay  their  fares  and  generally  behaving  in  a  disorderly 
manner. 

"In  every  province  there  are  riots  and  murders  daily. 
The  landowners  dare  not  go  to  their  estates  and  many  of 
them  will  not  be  able  to  raise  crops  this  year  as  the 
peasants,  who  are  being  inflamed  by  the  soldiers,  refuse 
to  allow  them  to  cultivate  the  land.  Everywhere  the 
soldiers  and  peasants  are  threatening  the  landowners 
with  death  and  confiscation  of  their  property.  The 
managers  of  large  factories  report  that  the  workmen  are 
doing  what  they  please  and  that  they  are  managers  in 
name  only.  The  food  supply  of  the  city  is  rapidly 
diminishing,  and  it  is  with  the  greatest  difficulty  that  one 
can  provide  a  meal.  Servants  must  stand  all  day  in  the 
bread,  milk,  and  meat  lines  and  then  return  with  very 
little. 

"The  local  authorities  here  are  desperate  and  make 
heart-rending  appeals  to  the  people,  but  the  soldiers 
are  bent  on  their  destructive  work  and  there  is  no  hope 
of  improvement. 

"The  time  has  come  when  strong  representations  will 
have  to  be  made  to  avoid  one  of  the  bloodiest  situations 
in  history.  God  grant  that  it  may  pass  over,  but  we  must 
be  prepared  for  the  worst." 

I  then  suspected  and  now  feel  confident  that  all  this 
disastrous  disintegration  of  Russian  society  was  largely 
accomplished  by  Lenin  and  Trotzky  and  a  host  of  similar 
agitators,  liberally  provided  with  German  money.  They 
worked,  in  so  far  as  they  could,  through  that  potential 
but  irresponsible  branch  of  the  Government,  the  Council 
of  Workmen's  and  Soldiers'  Deputies,  over  which  body 
they  finally  secured  control. 


CHAPTER  VIH 

SIGNIFICANT  CHANGES  IN  THE  MINISTRY 

IN  a  letter  to  my  son  Perry  of  May  15th,  1917,  I 
remarked :  * '  The  first  change  in  the  Provisional  Govern- 
ment took  place  Sunday  when  Goutchkoff,  Minister  of 
War,  resigned.  Other  changes  were  made  last  evening 
and  to-day,  and  you  will  no  doubt  hear  of  them  long 
before  you  receive  this  letter.  At  this  time  these  changes 
appear  to  me  to  be  wise  as  they  will  divide  the  responsi- 
bility with  that  socialistic  element  representing  the  work- 
men and  the  recalcitrant  soldiers  who  have  never 
acknowledged  unreservedly  the  authority  of  the  new 
government. ' ' 

In  a  letter  at  about  the  same  time  to  John  F.  Stevens, 
the  Chairman  of  the  Railroad  Commission  which  was 
then  about  to  land  at  Vladivostok,  I  commented  on  the 
Ministerial  changes  in  these  words : 

"The  situation  in  Russia  at  this  writing  has  just 
undergone  a  very  material  change.  There  have  been  two 
powers  exercising  authority — one  the  Provisional  Gov- 
ernment, composed  of  ten  ministers  all  of  whom  are  able, 
patriotic  and  courageous;  the  other  a  self-constituted 
Committee  of  forty  or  fifty  who  represent  the  working- 
men  and  the  soldiers  and  do  not  recognize  the  authority 
of  the  Provisional  Government.  I  say  self-constituted 
in  the  sense  that  no  provision  was  made  by  the  Duma 
for  such  committee.  I  think  they  have  been  elected  by 
the  workingmen  and  soldiers  whom  they  claim  to  repre- 
sent. However  that  may  be,  this  Committee  has  been 
almost  supreme  in  Petrograd  and  has  claimed  the  right 

115 


116    RUSSIA  FROM  THE  AMERICAN  EMBASSY 

to  veto  all  of  the  decrees  of  the  Provisional  Government 
including  those  given  by  the  Minister  of  War  to  the 
army.  For  this  reason  the  Minister  of  War,  Goutchkoff, 
resigned  two  days  ago.  I  have  just  heard  that  Kerensky 
who  has  been  Minister  of  Justice  since  the  beginning  of 
the  Revolution  has  been  appointed  Minister  of  War  but 
he  has  not  yet  been  installed.  Professor  P.  N.  Miliukoff, 
who  was  looked  upon  in  America  as  the  leading  spirit  of 
the  Revolution,  and  who  has  been  Minister  of  Foreign 
Affairs  since  the  organization  of  the  Government,  has 
also  resigned  his  portfolio  but  I  understand  will  take 
another  portfolio  in  the  Government — probably  that  of 
the  Department  of  Education.  Terestchenko  who  has 
been  Minister  of  Finance  from  the  beginning  of  the 
Government  has  been  made  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs. 
I  am  also  sending  with  the  Commission,  my  military 
attache,  Lieut.  E.  Francis  Riggs.  You  may  talk  freely 
with  Lieut.  Riggs  who  is  familiar  with  the  military 
situation  on  the  Russian  front  and  also  in  Petrograd. 
Lieut.  Riggs,  however,  is  a  military  man  and  conse- 
quently is  not  as  sanguine  about  the  outcome  of  the 
present  situation  as  I  am.  All  army  and  navy  officers  are 
naturally  pessimistic  concerning  present  conditions  be- 
cause the  soldiers  and  sailors  have  treated  their  officers 
with  little  respect  and  some  people  think  that  discipline 
cannot  be  restored  for  a  long  time  if  at  all  in  the  Russian 
army. ' ' 

In  commenting  on  the  same  situation  to  a  business 
associate,  Mr.  William  H.  Lee,  I  said : 

"The  part  we  are  performing  in  this  war  is  of  the 
utmost  importance  especially  in  Russia,  where  the  Gov- 
ernment and  the  people  seem  to  look  to  America  for  guid- 
ance and  assistance  and  I  may  say  for  leadership.  An 
Englishman  said  a  few  days  ago  that  when  America 
entered  the  war  Russia  left  it.  That  may  not  be  entirely 


SIGNIFICANT  CHANGES  IN  THE  MINISTRY  117 

true  but  the  situation  here  at  this  writing  is  by  no  means 
satisfactory.  The  Provisional  Government  which  I  so 
heartily  endorsed  at  a  critical  time  more  than  two  months 
ago  has  grown  in  strength  from  that  time  to  this,  but 
yesterday  the  Minister  of  War,  Goutchkoff,  one  of  the 
ablest  and  strongest  men  in  the  Government,  resigned. 
He  has  never  been  popular  with  the  Workmen  Js  and  Sol- 
diers'  Deputies  Committee  because  he  was  looked  upon 
as  an  aristocrat,  being  a  man  of  property,  and  further- 
more having  had  considerable  experience  as  a  soldier,  he 
had  little  patience  with  the  position  assumed  by  the  sol- 
diers of  the  left  to  elect  their  own  officers,  and  never  could 
listen  for  a  moment  to  the  claim  of  the  Workmen 's  Com- 
mittee to  vise  his  military  orders.  The  fraternizing  at 
the  front  between  Russian  and  German  soldiers  has 
always  been  objectionable  to  him." 

Upon  hearing  of  Goutchkoff 's  intended  resignation,  I 
had  attempted  to  find  him  for  the  purpose  of  remon- 
strating with  him  and  telling  him  he  should  not  forsake 
the  Provisional  Government,  and  that  in  my  judgment 
such  an  act  would  be  cowardly.  I  telephoned  to  the  War 
Office  and  to  his  residence  also  and  sent  a  note  by  mes- 
senger to  his  house.  He  could  not  be  found,  however, 
and  when  I  finally  saw  him  Kerensky  had  already  been 
appointed  as  his  successor  and  installed  in  the  office. 

I  met  Goutchkoff  several  times  after  his  resignation, 
and  learned  from  him  that  he  abandoned  his  office  be- 
cause he  could  not  endure  the  dictation  of  the  Working- 
men's  and  Soldiers'  Deputies  to  which  he  was  subjected. 

The  next  to  leave  the  Provisional  Government  Min- 
istry was  Miliukoff,  who  resigned.  At  a  private  meeting 
of  the  members  of  the  Duma,  Miliukoff  stated  that  he 
left  the  Government  as  a  large  majority  of  his  former 
colleagues  were  against  him.  He  expressed  as  his  opin- 
ion that  the  new  foreign  policy,  adopted  by  the  Socialists, 


118    RUSSIA  FROM  THE  AMERICAN  EMBASSY 

was  the  result  of  theoretical  speculations  supported  by 
the  minorities  of  socialistic  parties  abroad,  and  that  the 
realization  of  this  policy  would  be  dangerous  for  the 
Entente,  and  that  therefore  he,  Miliukoff,  could  not  take 
upon  himself  the  responsibility  to  conduct  such  policy. 
However,  he  said  he  hoped  that  the  new  Government 
would  succeed  in  obtaining  real  authority  and  bringing 
about  a  change  for  the  better  in  the  army.  Therefore 
he  stated  that  all  parties  should  support  the  new 
government. 

When  Miliukoff  resigned,  Terestchenko,  the  Minister 
of  Finance  in  the  Provisional  Government,  was  trans- 
ferred from  the  Department  of  Finance  to  the  Foreign 
Office.  He  was  a  young  man,  only  thirty-one  years  of 
age,  descended  from  Cossack  ancestors.  His  family  was 
rich;  his  mother  was  a  widow  and  universally  beloved 
for  her  charities. 

I  recall  that  while  Terestchenko  was  dining  with  me 
at  the  Amp.rifta.Ti  Embassy,  his  eye  fell  upon  an  engraving 
of  Rapine's  celebrated  painting,  "The  Cossack's  Reply 
to  the  Sultan  of  Turkey."  "One  of  these  Cossacks,"  he 
said,  "was  my  ancestor."  He  was  a  "Radical"  in  poli- 
tics, but  the  party  to  which  he  belonged  had  only  a  small 
membership.  He  was  reported  to  have  given  5,000,000 
or  10,000,000  roubles  to  assist  the  Provisional  Govern- 
ment. He  spoke  English,  French,  German  and  Polish. 
His  father  died  long  before  the  war  began,  and  the  young 
man  had  gained  much  credit  by  applying  himself  to  the 
preservation  of  his  father's  estate,  which  owned  several 
large  sugar  refineries.  His  mother  purchased  a  yacht 
for  him  before  the  war  began  at  a  cost  of  500,000  roubles, 
and  when  Russia  entered  the  war  he  gave  that  yacht  to 
the  Government.  He  was  a  close  student  and  a  sincere 
lover  of  his  country.  The  Provisional  Government  was 


SIGNIFICANT  CHANGES  IN  THE  MINISTRY  119 

fortunate  in  having  a  man  so  well  qualified  to  fill 
Miliukoff's  place. 

Shortly  after  he  became  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs, 
I  made  an  arrangement  to  see  him  at  a  fixed  time  each 
day;  this  resulted  in  our  becoming  close  friends.  Ter- 
estchenko  was  loyal  to  Kerensky,  whom  he  greatly 
admired  up  to  within  two  or  three  weeks  of  the  Bolshevik 
Revolution.  I  did  not  know,  indeed,  that  he  ever  lost  con- 
fidence in  Kerensky  until  Terestchenko  visited  me  incog- 
nito in  the  latter  part  of  October,  1918,  at  Archangel. 

When,  after  the  fall  of  the  Provisional  Government 
and  during  the  Bolshevik  regime,  the  Germans  ap- 
proached within  twenty-five  miles  of  Petrograd,  which 
caused  the  departure  of  all  of  the  Allied  Missions  from 
the  city,  Terestchenko  and  the  other  former  Ministers 
were  released  from  the  St.  Peter  and  Paul  Fortress. 
After  living  in  seclusion  for  some  weeks,  Terestchenko 
managed  to  get  through  the  lines  to  Sweden,  and  told 
me  when  he  arrived  in  Archangel  that  he  had  spent  the 
summer  of  1918  on  a  farm  in  Norway  belonging  to  a 
former  employee  of  his.  He  said  he  had  come  with  the 
intention  of  joining  Kolchak  if  he  could  get  through,  but 
that  if  he  could  not  make  his  way  through  the  lines,  he 
wished  to  go  to  America.  I  told  him  I  would  give  him 
a  passport  to  America,  but  he  was  loath  to  abandon  his 
plan  to  join  Kolchak,  and  was  still  in  Archangel  when  I 
left  that  city  November  6th,  1918.  He  did  not  come  to 
America  but  during  my  stay  in  London,  I  heard  that  he 
was  in  Stockholm.  I  have  heard  nothing  from  him  since 
I  parted  with  him  in  Archangel  the  day  before  I  was 
borne  on  a  stretcher  aboard  the  cruiser  Olympia;  sup- 
pose he  is  somewhere  in  Scandinavian  country,  awaiting 
the  restoration  of  established  order  in  Russia  when  he 
will  return  to  his  beloved  country. 

Shortly  after  Terestchenko 's  assuming  the  Foreign 


120    RUSSIA  FROM  THE  AMERICAN  EMBASSY 

Office  portfolio,  he  issued  to  the  Russian  press  the  follow- 
ing statement  of  his  policy: 

"You  ask  what  is  my  program?  You  can  read  it  in 
the  declaration  of  the  new  Provisional  Government 
called  to  power  by  Free  Russia.  This  program  is  short, 
but  significant,  namely,  the  reestablishment  as  early  as 
possible  of  universal  peace.  A  peace  which  aims  neither 
at  domination  over  other  peoples,  nor  a  seizure  of  their 
national  patrimony,  nor  a  taking  by  force  of  foreign 
territories,  a  peace  without  annexations  or  indemnities, 
based  on  the  principle  of  the  rights  of  peoples  to  dispose 
,  of  themselves,  a  peace  concluded  in  close  and  indissoluble 
union  with  the  allied  democracies.  Free  Russia,  like 
every  country  which  has  made  a  great  renovating  revolu- 
tion, is  moved  by  two  motives  profoundly  idealistic.  The 
first  is  an  aspiration  to  give  a  just  peace  to  the  entire 
world,  not  to  injure  any  nation,  not  to  create  after  the 
war  a  hatred,  an  estrangement  which  remains  always 
when  one  nation  comes  forth  from  the  struggle  enriched 
at  the  expense  of  the  other  nations,  when  the  latter  are 
crushed  and  obliged  to  accept  humiliating  conditions  of 
peace.  We  have  seen  a  sad  example  of  that  in  1870. 
The  wounds  dealt  to  France  by  Germany  remained  open 
for  forty-five  years.  The  hope  of  the  people  of  Alsace- 
Lorraine  for  a  better  future  is  not  dead  up  to  the  present 
and  they  have  now  a  right  to  hope  for  the  realization  of 
their  ideal.  Outrage  and  injustice  are  not  forgotten, 
violence  creates  hatred.  Liberated  Russia  does  not  wish 
that  either  for  herself,  or  for  others. 

"The  second  motive  is  the  consciousness  of  ties  with 
the  allied  democracies,  consciousness  of  the  duty  which 
these  ties  have  imposed  on  her.  Revolutionary  Russia 
cannot  and  ought  not  to  break  these  ties  sealed  by  blood ; 
for  her  it  is  a  question  of  revolutionary  honor  which  is 
so  much  the  more  precious  to  her  now.  The  great  revolu- 
tion which  stirred  the  public  ocean  to  its  greatest  depths 
could  not  but  influence  the  army,  which  was  unable  to 
immediately  accommodate  itself  to  the  suddenly  changed 
state  of  affairs.  At  the  same  time,  the  democracy  of 
•  the  west  continued  to  accomplish  with  tenacity  its  war- 


SIGNIFICANT  CHANGES  IN  THE  MINISTRY  121 

like  work  which  was  for  us  a  powerful  aid.  The  allied 
armies  of  whom  the  great  mass  is  composed,  as  with  us, 
of  peasants  and  workmen,  carried  on  without  stopping 
the  struggle  against  the  enemy,  diverting  his  strength 
and  by  their  heroic  effort  are  saving  the  Russian  revolu- 
tion from  an  external  defeat.  The  success  of  the  Rus- 
sian revolution  is  also  bought  by  their  blood ;  it  is  with 
a  sentiment  of  profound  satisfaction  that  I  must  state 
that  in  Free  Russia,  in  spite  of  a  divergence  of  opinions 
of  the  democratic  parties,  there  has  not  been  a  single 
party,  a  single  organization  as  there  was  in  reactionary 
Russia,  which  would  have  made  a  propaganda  for  a 
separate  peace.  I  know,  however,  that  there  exists  a 
question  capable  of  stirring  the  emotions  of  the  numerous 
groups  of  the  Russian  democracy,  that  is  the  question  of 
the  treaties  concluded  by  the  old  Russian  regime.  This 
question  stirs  up  the  passions.  But  I  believe  neverthe- 
less that  I  ought  to  touch  upon  this  question,  expressing 
my  entire  and  true  opinion,  for  the  Russian  people  have 
the  right  to  expect  and  expects  that  the  Provisional 
Government  should  only  tell  it  the  truth.  The  Russian 
democracy  is  afraid  that  bound  by  these  old  treaties  it 
will  be  made  to  serve  purposes  of  annexation  which  are 
foreign  to  it.  This  disturbs  its  revolutionary  confidence, 
diminishes  its  spirit  and  enthusiasm.  That  is  why  de- 
mands for  the  immediate  publication  of  all  the  treaties 
concluded  by  the  old  regime  are  being  made.  I  think 
that  in  this  case  the  sentiments  which  bring  forth  these 
demands  are  highly  humanitarian,  but  I  am  convinced 
that  the  question  is  raised  in  an  entirely  erroneous  man- 
ner and  that  should  be  understood  by  the  Russian 
democracy. 

' '  It  ought  absolutely  to  understand  that  in  the  name  of 
the  safety  of  the  Russian  revolution  and  the  Allied 
democracies,  the  immediate  publication  of  the  treaties  is 
equivalent  to  a  rupture  with  the  Allies  and  will  result 
in  the  isolation  of  Russia.  Such  an  act  will  necessarily 
bring  on  a  separate  situation  and  for  Russia  will  be  the 
beginning  of  a  separate  peace.  But  it  is  exactly  this 
which  the  Russian  people  repudiates  with  all  its  force 
and  not  only  by  a  feeling  of  honor.  It  understands  that 


122    RUSSIA  FROM  THE  AMERICAN  EMBASSY 

the  international  war  can  only  be  ended  by  an  interna- 
tional peace.  It  is  only  this  peace  which  could  guarantee 
this  justice,  this  right  of  the  people  to  dispose  of  them- 
selves which  is  ardently  desired  by  liberated  Russia. 
Other  ways  must  be  chosen,  for  new  Russia  must  look 
forward  and  not  backward.  Now  the  world  at  war  is 
confronted  by  some  new  facts,  namely,  the  great  Russian 
revolution  and  the  entry  into  the  war  of  the  Great 
American  Republic,  which  hailed  with  enthusiasm  the 
Russian  revolution  and  has  united  itself  without  hesita- 
tion to  the  Allies  after  the  disappearance  of  Russian 
absolutism.  We  must  start  from  these  facts  and  these 
facts  cannot  but  be  counted  on  by  the  Allied  democracies. 
Personal  intercourse  with  representatives  of  the  western 
democracies,  as  for  example  Mr.  Thomas,  makes  near 
and  clear  to  all  the  aims  which  are  now  placed  before 
Russia  and  before  the  world  as  a  result  of  the  Russian 
revolution.  In  basing  oneself  on  this  intercourse,  I 
notice  the  growth  of  a  reciprocal  confidence  with  the 
Allies  which  will  permit  the  Russian  Government  to 
undertake  preparatory  measures  for  an  agreement  with 
the  Allies  on  the  basis  of  the  declaration  of  March  27th- 
April  9th,  and  I  will  apply  every  effort  to  hasten  the  proc- 
ess of  approachment  of  mutual  understanding  and  agree- 
ment. But  to  attain  this  aim  with  success  Free  Russia 
must  prove  that  she  is  accomplishing  faithfully  her  fun- 
damental engagement  that  she  has  taken  towards  the 
Allies,  the  engagement  of  united  struggle  and  mutual 
help. 

"She  must  inspire  an  unlimited  confidence  in  herself 
and  prove  that  her  idealism  is  not  derived  from  weak- 
ness and  that  she  renounces  annexations  not  because  she 
cannot  realize  them  but  because  she  does  not  desire  them. 
It  is  precisely  the  reason  why  in  the  name  of  the  demands 
of  the  democracy,  in  the  name  of  a  peace  rapid  and  just, 
it  is  necessary  to  re-create  the  military  power  of  new 
Russia,  to  strengthen  it  by  all  the  force  of  her  revolu- 
tionary enthusiasm  and  to  prove  really  the  existence  of 
this  force.  The  Russian  army  proved  its  heroism,  its 
great  self-denial  even  when  it  was  sent  to  the  field  of 
battle  by  the  old  regime.  At  present  being  subjected  only 


SIGNIFICANT  CHANGES  IN  THE  MINISTRY  123 

to  a  discipline  freely  accepted  it  must  understand  and 
understands  that  it  is  struggling  for  what  it  holds  most 
dear,  for  the  integrity  and  the  safety  of  its  freed  country 
aspiring  to  a  new  life.  It  understands  also  that  a  defeat 
will  annihilate  this  liberty  and  this  new  life.  And  that 
ought  to  be  the  only  aim  to  animate  it.  It  is  ridculous 
in  fact  to  speak  at  the  present  moment  of  the  annexa- 
tionist  plans  of  the  Allies  as  of  a  real  menace  to  peace, 
just  when  Russia,  Belgium,  France  and  Servia  are  them- 
selves occupied  in  whole  or  in  part  by  the  enemy.  Now 
it  can  only  be  a  question  of  an  active  defense  with  a  view 
to  defending  the  national  independence  and  liberty.  As 
for  the  future  the  Allied  democracies  in  their  ever  grow- 
ing confidence  must  count  with  the  desire  and  tendency 
of  all.  It  is  not  for  nothing  that  Russian  liberty  comes  to 
the  world  and  that  its  consequences  and  influences  are 
spreading  in  a  large  and  powerful  wave  across  the 
civilized  world.  That  is  all  that  I  can  say  for  the  moment 
in  regard  to  what  will  serve  me  as  a  basis  for  my  activity 
and  the  measures  that  I  propose  taking." 

The  reader  will  note  how  radically  this  statement  dif- 
fers from  the  pronouncement  on  the  same  subject  issued 
by  Terestchenko 's  colleague  and  predecessor,  Miliukoff, 
only  a  few  weeks  before.  In  fact  there  is  scarcely  any 
similarity  except  on  the  fundamental  points  of  the  neces- 
sity of  winning  the  war  and  remaining  loyal  to  Russia's 
Allies.  It  was  the  insistence  on  these  fundamentals, 
which  made  it  possible  for  me  to  continue  my  coopera- 
tion with  the  Government. 

The  Provisional  Government,  with  which  I  had  close 
relations,  was  surrounded  at  this  period  by  many  dif- 
ficulties. I  saw  the  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs  daily, 
and  attempted  to  keep  my  Government  advised  concern- 
ing the  situation. 

Terestchenko,  Kerensky  and  Lvoff,  the  latter  two  of 
whom  I  saw  frequently,  told  me  that  they  did  not  need 
men  but  supplies  and  credit,  in  order  to  equip  and  feed 


and  clothe  the  Eussian  army.  Soon  after  America 
entered  the  war  a  credit  was  extended  to  the  Provisional 
Government,  on  my  recommendation,  by  the  United 
States  of  $100,000,000  on  condition  that  the  entire  amount 
be  disbursed  in  America.  After  the  arrival  of  the  Ameri- 
can Commission,  Senator  Boot  and  I  joined  in  a  recom- 
mendation that  $15,000,000  of  this  $100,000,000  and  if  the 
entire  $100,000,000  had  already  been  obligated,  an  addi- 
tional credit  amounting  to  $15,000,000  be  extended  in 
cash  for  the  purpose  of  paying  the  Eussian  army  in 
Finland.  Finland  had  an  agreement  with  Russia  by 
which  the  former  was  to  pay  the  latter  20,000,000  roubles 
annually,  and  in  return  Finnish  citizens  were  not  subject 
to  conscription  for  service  in  the  Eussian  army.  The 
government  of  Finland  had  informed  the  government  in 
Petrograd  that  the  Eussian  soldiers  in  Finland  threat- 
ened to  mutiny  in  default  of  their  pay,  which  was 
overdue. 

The  Government  of  the  United  States  followed  the 
recommendation  of  Senator  Eoot  and  myself  and  placed 
$15,000,000  to  the  credit  of  Eussia  in  the  Bank  of  Eng- 
land, in  accordance  with  an  agreement  made  with  the 
Bank  of  Finland,  with  which  the  Eussian  soldiers  in 
Finland  were  promptly  paid. 

Finland  had  long  desired  her  independence ;  in  fact  a 
number  of  the  richer  classes  sympathized  with  Germany 
from  the  beginning  of  the  war.  Germany  was  continu- 
ously propagandizing  in  that  country  with  a  view  of 
creating  an  uprising  of  the  Finns.  During  this  period  I 
realized  the  importance  of  maintaining  the  Eussian 
army  on  the  Eastern  front,  and  was  well  acquainted  with 
the  trials  and  tribulations  of  the  Ministry.  America  had 
entered  the  war  ninety  days  previously ;  and,  in  my  opin- 
ion, it  would  require  at  least  one  year  for  her  to  land 
troops  in  France  or  Belgium  that  would  be  of  material 


SIGNIFICANT  CHANGES  IN  THE  MINISTRY   125 

assistance  to  the  Allied  cause.  It  was,  therefore,  of  vital 
importance  that  the  Russian  army  should  maintain  the 
Eastern  front,  ,so  that  Germany  and  Austria  could  send 
no  assistance  to  their  armies  in  France.  Hindenburg 
and  Ludendorff  were  advancing  their  lines  in  France  and 
Belgium;  consequently,  this  was  a  critical  juncture  of 
the  world  war. 

This  situation,  in  my  opinion,  not  only  justified  but 
demanded  activities  on  my  part  to  assist  the  Russian 
Government  to  keep  the  Russian  armies  fighting  which 
under  ordinary  circumstances  would  have  been  not  only 
unusual  but  improper  for  an  Ambassador  to  undertake. 

About  this  time  I  said  in  a  letter  to  my  eldest  son : 

"I  have  not  lost  faith  in  Russia  coming  out  of  this 
ordeal  as  a  republic  and  with  a  government  which  will 
be  founded  on  correct  principles.  My  constant  effort  is 
to  keep  her  in  the  war  as  her  withdrawal  would  throw 
the  bulk  of  the  burden  of  the  defeat  of  Germany  upon 
our  country.  .1  realize  the  magnitude  of  my  responsi- 
bility but  at  the  same  time  feel  fortunate  that  it  has  fallen 
to  my  lot  to  play  such  an  important  part  in  occurrences 
which  are  determining  not  only  the  future  of  our  country 
and  of  Russia  but  of  all  international  relations  and  in 
fact  of  society  itself." 

On  May  31st,  I  received  the  following  confidential 
report  on  the  experiences  of  Kerensky  at  the  front : 

"Kerensky  is  still  continuing  his  inspection  of  the 
front,  and  is  met  everywhere  with  the  greatest  enthu- 
siasm. The  reception  given  him  at  the  Frontal  Congress 
at  Odessa  and  Sevastopol  is  characteristic  of  this  enthu- 
siasm. Kerensky  entered  the  Assembly  Hall  in  Odessa 
at  the  moment  when,  at  the  chairman  '8  call,  the  soldiers 
were  handing  over  their  decorations  and  medals  for  the 
needs  of  the  war,  whereas  those  who  had  none,  handed 
over  money.  Young  women  in  the  audience  came  for- 


126    RUSSIA  PEOM  THE  AMERICAN  EMBASSY 

ward  and  laid  on  the  chairman's  table  their  jewelry. 
Kerensky,  as  usual,  was  met  with  enormous  enthusiasm. 
In  his  speech,  he  mentioned  amongst  other  things:  'We 
have  gone  through  a  period  of  destruction,  but  now  we 
must  understand  that  this  cannot  be  continued  or  re- 
peated, but  we  must  commence  the  positive  work  of  con- 
struction. Enemies  of  Russian  freedom  dare  not  go 
against  us  openly.  They  choose  the  path  of  deceit  and 
go  to  the  famine-stricken  masses,  corrupted  by  the  old 
regime  and  inspire  them  "to  demand  everything  immedi- 
ately," and  they  whisper  words  of  mistrust  against  us, 
who  have,  all  our  lives,  struggled  for  freedom  against 
Tzarism.  There  are  also,  amongst  us,  idealists,  who, 
much  too  stubbornly,  look  towards  the  skies,  and  lead  us 
to  the  precipice  of  anarchy.  We  must  say  to  them: 
"Stop !"  Do  not  shake  the  new  foundations.  It  is  easy 
to  criticize  and  destroy,  but  the  Russian  Revolution 
demands  other  things  of  its  sons,  wise  statesmanship, 
and  demands  that  one  does  not  play  on  the  cords  of  the 
fatigue  of  the  people  and  of  the  dullness  inherited  from 
the  old  regime.  All  that  we  have  conquered  is  in  the 
balance.  If  the  Russian  people,  and  especially  the  Rus- 
sian army,  cannot  retrieve  its  bravery  and  courage,  if  it 
cannot  again  put  on  its  steel  armor  of  discipline,  we 
shall  be  lost,  and  the  whole  world  will  despise  us,  and 
besides  us,  will  despise  the  ideas  of  Socialism,  in  the 
name  of  which  we  made  the  Revolution/  Kerensky 
ended  his  speech  with  the  words :  '  I  have  come  to  you, 
not  to  blush  for  the  Russian  army,  but  in  order  to, 
together  with  you,  accomplish  an  heroic  action,  and  for- 
getting the  damnation  of  the  past,  rush  forward  in  the 
name  of  freedom,  equality  and  fraternity/  The  speech 
called  forth  great  ovations,  and  all  present  swore  a 
solemn  oath,  to  go  forward  and  only  forward.  The 
whole  audience  shouted:  'Lead  us  and  we  will  follow 
you/  " 


In  the  midst  of  our  apparently  successful  efforts  for 
the  revival  of  Russia's  military  power  this  disquieting 
report  among  many  others  was  received  at  the  Embassy. 


SIGNIFICANT  CHANGES  IN  THE  MINISTRY  127 

Under  the  influence  of  the  Bolsheviks,  the  Council  of 
Workmen's  and  Soldiers '  Deputies  of  Cronstadt  had  by  a 
vote  of  210  to  40  decided  to  take  all  power  into  its  own 
hands  and  to  repudiate  the  Provisional  Government. 
The  local  representatives  of  the  Government  had  been 
dismissed  and  replaced  by  the  Council's  own  appointees. 
In  order  to  keep  in  touch  with  the  rest  of  the  country  the 
Cronstadt  Council  had  opened  communications  with  the 
Petrograd  Council  of  Workmen's  and  Soldiers'  Deputies. 


CHAPTER  IX 
THE  DIPLOMATIC  AND  RAILWAY  COMMISSIONS 

PRESIDENT  WILSON  appointed  a  Commission  to  visit 
Russia  of  which  Honorable  Elihu  Root  was  Chairman. 
The  other  members  were  General  Hugh  Scott,  Admiral 
Glennon,  Charles  R.  Crane,  present  Minister  to  China, 
James  H.  Duncan,  Vice-President  of  the  American  Fed- 
eration of  Labor,  S.  R.  Bertron,  John  R.  Mott,  Executive 
Secretary  of  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association, 
and  Charles  E.  Russell,  at  one  time  Socialist  candidate 
for  President. 

Upon  the  arrival  of  this  Commission  at  Vladivostok 
there  was  a  hostile  demonstration  on  the  part  of  some 
unfriendly  spirits,  at  the  instigation  of  Russians  living 
on  the  East  Side  of  New  York  City,  but  it  was  sup- 
pressed and  the  Commission  proceeded  upon  its  way. 
When  it  arrived  in  Petrograd  I  met  it  at  the  station  and 
escorted  it  to  the  Winter  Palace,  where  provision  had 
been  made  for  its  accommodation  and  where  the  Com- 
missioners were  the  guests  of  the  Provisional  Govern- 
ment during  their  stay  in  Russia.  The  Ministry  held  a 
special  session  to  receive  the  Commission,  which  I  had 
the  honor  of  introducing.  In  the  presentation  of  the 
Commission  to  the  Ministry  I  said  among  other  things 
that  the  Commission  represented  all  the  interests  in  our 
country,  and  had  come  for  the  purpose  of  welcoming 
Russia  to  the  sisterhood  of  republics,  furthermore,  that 
the  Commission  was  composed  of  men  eminent  in 
America,  who  were  serving  without  compensation,  and 
who  had  left  their  avocations  at  great  personal  sacrifice ; 

128 


DIPLOMATIC  AND  RAILWAY  COMMISSIONS    129 

that  they  represented  a  country  whose  institutions  wero 
based  upon  the  great  principle  that  all  just  powers  c~ 
government  are  derived  from  the  consent  of  the 
governed,  and  whose  superstructure  was  universal  edu- 
cation, and  the  crowning  arch  equality  of  opportunity. 

Chairman  Boot  spoke  eloquently  on  behalf  of  the  Com- 
mission, and  to  him  Minister  Terestchenko  made  a  fit- 
ting reply.  The  Commission  remained  in  Petrograd 
about  six  weeks,  visiting  Moscow  in  the  meantime,  and 
General  Scott  went  to  the  front,  while  Admiral  Glennon 
reviewed  the  Black  Sea  Fleet. 

I  entertained  the  members  of  the  Commission  at  lun- 
cheons and  dinners,  inviting  to  meet  them  at  one  time 
Rodzianko,  at  another  time  Miliukoff;  Kerensky,  who 
was  then  Minister  of  War  and  Minister  of  Marine  also, 
was  invited  to  meet  General  Scott  and  Admiral  Glen- 
non. Messrs.  Mott  and  Bertron  lunched  or  dined  at  the 
American  Embassy,  and  had  long  talks  with  the  Minis- 
ters of  Commerce  and  Industry.  Messrs.  Duncan  and 
Eussell  had  discussions  at  the  American  Embassy  on 
several  occasions  with  Tchernov,  who  was  Minister  of 
Labor.  The  American  Society  of  Petrograd  honored  the 
Commission  by  giving  it  a  dinner  on  July  4th  in  celebra- 
tion of  our  Independence  Day  and  Minister  Terestchenko 
gave  visiting  Americans  an  elaborate  luncheon  at  the 
Department  of  Foreign  Affairs. 

The  Commission  took  its  departure  from  Petrograd 
on  the  8th  of  July,  1917,  just  nine  days  before  the  July 
Revolution,  which  attempted  to  overthrow  the  Provi- 
sional Government.  Felicitations  between  the  Commis- 
sion and  the  Provisional  Government  were  hearty  and 
sincere. 

The  Commission  in  parting  jointly  and  severally 
expressed  their  gratitude  to  the  American  Ambassador, 
complimenting  him  on  his  relations  with  the  Provisional 


130    RUSSIA  FROM  THE  AMERICAN  EMBASSY 

Government,  and  his  standing  with  the  Russian  people, 
which  they  attributed  to  the  opportune  recognition  of  the 
Provisional  Government  by  our  Government. 

I  had  recommended  the  sending  of  a  railway  commis- 
sion to  Russia.  The  Allied  Missions  of  England,  France 
and  Italy  by  agreement  had  assigned  the  transportation 
systems  of  the  Provisional  Government  to  the  American 
Ambassador.  When  I  was  advised  of  the  commission 
appointments,  I  was  pleased  to  hear  that  so  eminent  an 
engineer  as  John  F.  Stevens  had  been  named  as  its  head. 
The  State  Department  had  cabled  me  that  Mr.  Stevens 
would  be  appointed  Chairman  if  I  did  not  object,  to 
which  cable  I  made  prompt  reply  that  if  I  had  had  the 
selection  of  a  chairman  I  did  not  know  of  any  man  I 
would  have  preferred  to  Mr.  Stevens.  I  knew  Mr.  Ste- 
vens personally  and  esteemed  him  highly.  The  other  mem- 
bers of  the  Commission  were :  George  Gibbs,  a  mechan- 
ical engineer  of  experience  formerly  connected  with  the 
Pennsylvania  Railroad;  Henry  Miller,  who  had  served 
the  Wabash  and  made  a  fine  record  as  General  Manager ; 
W.  L.  Darling,  a  civil  engineer  of  repute,  and  John  E. 
Greiner,  Consulting  Engineer  of  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio. 

The  Commission  arrived  in  Vladivostok  in  June,  1917. 
I  sent  the  Commercial  Attache  of  the  Embassy,  E. 
Francis  Riggs,  to  meet  them,  with  the  following  letter 
of  greeting: 

"My  dear  Stevens:  I  was  more  than  pleased  when 
advised  by  the  State  Department  that  you  had  been  des- 
ignated to  come  to  Russia  as  the  head  of  a  commission 
of  experts  whose  mission  is  to  relieve  the  congestion  at 
Vladivostok  and  to  improve  generally  the  transportation 
facilities  of  the  Siberian  railway.  My  understanding  is 
that  you  will  be  given  absolute  control  at  Vladivostok, 
r.nd  I  hope  to  have  that  control  extended  throughout 
the  entire  length  of  the  Siberian  railway.  I  have  not 


DIPLOMATIC  AND  RAILWAY  COMMISSIONS    131 

asked  the  latter  at  this  time  because  it  is  impolitic  to  do 
so.  The  railroad  engineers  of  Russia  are  highly  educated 
men  and  claim  to  be  exceedingly  practical.  They  are 
jealous  to  a  degree  of  any  reflection  upon  their  ability 
and  qualifications,  and  consequently  they  must  be  handled 
diplomatically  as  I  know  you  are  capable  of  doing." 

When  the  Railroad  Commission  arrived  in  Petrograd, 
they  reported  to  me  that  they  had  inspected  the  Trans- 
Siberian  and  had  begun  the  erection  of  an  assembling 
plant  near  Vladivostok.  I  promptly  secured  quarters  for 
the  Commission  in  the  Department  of  Ways  and  Com- 
munications. Mr.  Stevens  was  taken  ill  soon  after  arriv- 
ing in  Petrograd  and  was  confined  to  the  hospital  for 
about  two  months.  In  the  meantime,  Darling  and  Greiner 
had  left  for  America,  via  Sweden.  Gribbs  departed  soon 
after  and  reported  from  Vladivostok  that  the  assembling 
plant  was  making  satisfactory  progress.  I  requested 
Mr.  Stevens — when  he  recovered  from  his  illness — and 
Mr.  Miller  to  inspect  the  Donetz  system  of  railroads. 
They  had  just  completed  this  work  and  had  reached 
Moscow  on  their  return  when  the  Bolshevik  Revolution 
took  place.  Mr.  Stevens  wired  me  from  Moscow  that 
his  mission  was  completed  and  that  he  would  await 
further  orders  at  Moscow.  This  telegram  was  received 
the  Sunday  after  the  Bolshevik  Revolution  began.  I 
replied  suggesting  that  the  party  remain  at  Moscow 
until  the  situation  cleared  up,  or  as  long  as  it  was  safe 
to  remain  in  that  city,  and  then  come  to  Petrograd,  where 
I  would  protect  them.  I  don 't  know  whether  Mr.  Stevens 
ever  received  this  telegram  or  not,  but  I  learned  from 
other  sources  that  he  had  attached  his  private  car  to 
the  Siberian  Express  bound  for  Vladivostok. 

In  the  meantime  there  had  been  assembled  for  Russia, 
in  accordance  with  the  request  of  the  Railroad  Commis- 
sion, endorsed  by  myself,  a  party  of  over  200,  consisting 


132    EUSSIA  FROM  THE  AMERICAN  EMBASSY 

of  railroad  operating  men,  engineers  and  interpreters, 
under  the  command  of  George  Emerson,  which  planned 
to  leave  Seattle  November  19, 1917.  I  cabled  the  Depart- 
ment to  allow  this  party  to  come  on  to  Russia,  stating 
in  the  cable  that  I  had  no  confidence  in  the  survival  of 
the  Soviet  Government,  but  regardless  of  whether  it 
survived  or  not  there  would  be  some  government  in 
Russia,  and  that  that  country,  which  was  our  ally  in  the 
war,  would  accept  gladly  whatever  assistance  we  could 
render  in  its  transportation.  I  did  not  calculate  on  Rus- 
sia agreeing  to  an  armistice  and  signing  the  Brest-Litovsk 
Peace  which  resulted  in  Russia  withdrawing  from  the 
war. 

These  railroad  men  did  arrive  in  Vladivostok  and  there 
met  Mr.  Stevens.  There  were  frequent  changes  in  the 
Department  of  Ways  and  Communications  under  the 
Bolsheviks,  but  I  had  made  the  acquaintance  of  several 
subordinates  in  this  department,  with  whom  I  kept  in 
close  touch.  The  railroad  men  after  landing  in  Vladi- 
vostok, concluded  to  reembark  and  go  to  Nagasaki,  Japan, 
where  they  remained  some  months. 

When  at  Vologda,  I  wired  Mr.  Stevens  to  send  me 
twenty  railroad  engineers,  and  cabled  the  Department 
of  State  that  I  had  so  wired.  Mr.  Stevens  promptly 
replied  that  the  instructions  would  be  followed.  The 
Department  cabled  to  know  what  I  wished  with  these 
railroad  men,  to  which  inquiry  I  replied  that  it  was  my 
intention  to  improve  the  transportation  facilities  of  Rus- 
sia, with  a  view  to  assembling  all  supplies  at  Archangel 
and  Murmansk  to  prevent  the  Germans  from  capturing 
them.  The  Department  seemed  satisfied  and  cabled  that 
Emerson  was  leaving  with  ten  engineers  from  Harbin, 
via  Vladivostok.  Mr.  Emerson  did  not  arrive  at  Vladi- 
vostok, however,  until  the  12th  of  May,  when  it  was  too 


£      a 

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43  ffi    IE 

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133 

late  for  them  to  reach  Vologda  on  account  of  the  fighting 
between  the  Czecho-Slovaks  and  the  Bed  Army  along  the 
line  of  the  Trans-Siberian  Railroad. 

The  Bolshevik  Revolution  prevented  the  consumma- 
tion of  the  well-laid  plans  of  these  railroad  experts. 


CHAPTER  X 
THE  JULY  REVOLUTION 

LENIN  and  Trotzky  had  not  belonged  to  the  same  fac- 
tion of  International  Socialists,  but  they  soon  saw  after 
arriving  in  Russia  that  they  had  the  same  ulterior  ob- 
ject, which  was  world-wide  social  revolution,  and  that 
it  could  be  best  promoted  by  their  joining  forces.  Lenin 
was  the  stronger  intellect  of  the  two.  Trotzky  was  the 
abler  executive.  Lenin  led  a  simple  life;  Trotzky  was 
fond  of  display  and  luxury.  Whenever  the  two  dis- 
agreed, Lenin  dominated  because  he  had  the  stronger 
will  and  the  greater  following.  These  two  men  soon 
became  the  recognized  leaders  and  drove  the  moderate 
Socialists  out  of  the  organizations  which  they  dominated. 
Both  believed  in  "direct  action,"  that  is,  they  scrupled 
at  no  means  by  which  their  ends  could  be  accomplished. 
In  other  words,  they  believed  in  force  rather  than  argu- 
ment. Plekahnov,  at  whose  feet  Lenin  had  imbibed  the 
principles  of  Socialism,  also  returned  to  Russia  after  the 
first  Revolution ;  he  had  championed  Socialism  and  inter- 
nationalism, but  believed  in  putting  them  into  practical 
operation  by  peaceful  means,  contending  that  if  the  peo- 
ple were  educated  in  the  principles  of  Socialism,  they 
would  all  become  its  supporters.  Lenin  claimed  that  the 
education  of  the  masses  in  Russia  was  too  slow  a  process. 
He  had  been  the  leader  of  the  "Defeatists"  at  the  be- 
ginning of  the  war,  and  had  advocated  the  defeat  of 
Russia — his  own  country — as  the  surest  and  quickest 
means  whereby  the  Russian  Monarchy  could  be  over- 
thrown, and  a  world-wide  revolution  promoted., 

134 


THE  JULY  REVOLUTION  135 

Lenin  was  living  in  Switzerland  when  I  arrived  in 
Petrograd,  but  when  the  Provisional  Government,  soon 
after  its  installation,  issued  a  degree  pardoning  all  po- 
litical offenders,  whether  in  prison  or  in  exile,  he  re- 
turned through  Germany  in  a  special  car,  and  immedi- 
ately set  to  work  to  demoralize  the  Bussian  army. 
Trotzky,  who  had  been  banished  from  France,  was  eking 
out  an  impecunious  existence  on  the  East  Side  in  New 
York  by  contributing  articles  to  radical  socialistic  pub- 
lications. When  he  attempted  to  return  to  Russia  the 
steamer  upon  which  he  sailed  touched  at  Halifax,  and 
Trotzky  was  taken  ashore  by  force,  after  refusing  to 
obey  the  commands  of  the  inspection  officer  and  detained 
in  Halifax  for  several  weeks.  He  was  later,  at  the  re- 
quest of  the  Provisional  Government,  permitted  by  the 
British  Government  to  proceed  on  his  way  to  Russia. 

Lenin  on  arriving  in  Petrograd  immediately  began  to 
disburse  money  which  was  supposedly  furnished  by  Ger- 
many. He  was  disregarded  by  the  Provisional  Govern- 
ment, and  for  some  time  the  Workingmen's,  Soldiers' 
and  Peasants'  Deputies  denied  alliance  or  cooperation 
with  him.  Lenin  was  persistent,  however,  and  gradually 
gained  influence  with  the  enemies  of  the  Provisional 
Government. 

Across  the  Neva  on  the  Petrograd  side  was  the  palace, 
a  beautiful  structure,  of  an  influential  ballet  dancer 
named  Dschinskaia,  who  was  reputed  to  have  been  the 
Emperor's  mistress  before  he  married.  This  palace 
was  pointed  out  to  all  visitors  as  having  been  the  gift  of 
the  Emperor  to  the  dancer.  She  had  subsequently  be- 
come the  mistress,  according  to  current  rumor,  of  two 
Grand  Dukes  with  royal  connections.  Her  word  was 
still  law  with  the  ballet,  which  was  subsidized  by  the 
Imperial  Government,  and  upon  rare  occasions  she  par- 
ticipated in  its  performances.  Soon  after  the  Revoln- 


136    RUSSIA  FROM  THE  AMERICAN  EMBASSY 

tion  she  fled  from  her  palace,  and  it  was  taken  over  by 
the  Workingman's,  Soldiers'  and  Peasants'  Deputies. 
Just  across  the  street  from  this  palace  was  the  Circus 
Moderne,  which  had  a  seating  capacity  of  from  6,000  to 
10,000.  In  the  same  neighborhood  was  the  St.  Peter  and 
Paul  Fortress,  which  continued  under  the  control  of  the 
Provisional  Government. 

The  Circus  Moderne  was  the  place  of  assemblage  of 
all  the  radical  elements  in  Petrograd.  Here  they  came 
to  listen  to  orators,  whose  themes  were  opposition  to  the 
government,  the  dictatorship  of  the  proletariat  and  the 
division  of  all  property.  Lenin  took  possession  of  the 
Dschinskaia  palace,  but  at  what  time  or  by  whose  au- 
thority was  never  known.  There  was  in  the  corner  of 
the  grounds  a  circular  pagoda,  or  band  stand,  from  which 
Lenin  and  other  orators  addressed  the  crowds  which 
congregrated  day  and  night.  Lenin  and  Trotzky,  whose 
followers  were  continually  increasing  in  numbers,  de- 
cided upon  a  " peaceful  demonstration"  on  the  evening 
of  July  16th,  1917. 

So  it  was  that  on  Monday  evening,  July  16th,  accord- 
ing to  the  Bolshevik  schedule,  demonstrations  took  place 
all  over  the  city.  Parades  were  everywhere  formed. 
Thousands  of  peasant  soldiers,  for  the  most  part  un- 
armed, formed  in  lines  carrying  banners — "Let  Us  Go 
Home  and  Harvest  the  Crops  Then  We'll  Fight!"  and 
"All  Power  to  the  Workingmen's,  Soldiers'  and  Peas- 
ants' Deputies!"— "All  Power  to  the  Soviets!"  They 
marched  by  the  thousands  to  the  Smolny  Institute.  There 
were  also  gathered  hundreds  of  Kronstadt  sailors  and 
amongst  the  masses  gathered  around  the  buildings  of  the 
Smolny  Institute  were  three-inch  field  pieces  with  cais- 
sons and  other  equipment.  All  during  the  evening 
speeches  were  made  inciting  the  people  against  the  Gov- 


THE  JULY  REVOLUTION  137 

ernment  and  turning  them  to  the  Soviet  by  advocating  the 
alluring  slogans  proclaimed  on  the  banners. 

The  Government  took  no  active  measures  against  these 
meetings  preferring  to  await  the  results  and  then  arrest 
the  ringleaders. 

The  next  day,  however,  the  Government  finally  decided 
to  permit  no  more  demonstrations  of  this  character  and 
accordingly  called  upon  the  Cossacks  with  armored  cars 
to  keep  the  crowds  dispersed  and  prevent  such  demon- 
strations. 

Tuesday  evening  about  7:30  I  received  a  telephone 
call  from  Frederick  Holbrook,  of  Holbrook,  Cabot  &  Rol- 
lins, of  Boston,  saying  that  there  was  going  to  be  trouble 
in  the  city  and  that  he  was  coming  to  the  Embassy.  About 
the  time  he  arrived  the  trouble  began  all  over  the  city. 
The  fighting  nearest  the  Embassy  took  place  about  300 
yards  away  on  the  Liteiny  Prospect,  when  a  calvacade  of 
Cossacks  riding  toward  Liteiny  Bridge  across  the  Neva 
River  four  blocks  from  the  Embassy,  with  the  intention 
of  controlling  the  bridge  and  preventing  communication 
between  the  different  organized  bands  of  provocateurs 
and  agitators  met  with  resistance.  When  they  rushed 
the  crowd  with  their  horses,  however,  the  mob  broke  and 
ran  in  all  directions.  But  a  new  and  unlooked-for  factor 
now  showed  itself.  An  automobile  truck  loaded  with 
Kronstadt  sailors  appeared  on  the  scene  with  a  machine 
gun  on  the  rear,  which  they  turned  upon  the  Cossacks 
and  opened  fire.  They  poured  a  deadly  and  disastrous 
fire  into  the  ranks  of  the  Cossacks.  They  were  mown 
down  without  any  chance  to  defend  themselves.  Horses 
and  drivers  fell  together  and,  although  there  was  a  driv- 
ing rain  a  half  hour  afterward  when  I  visited  the  scene, 
the  street  was  literally  and  actually  running  with  blood. 
Bodies  were  scattered  for  four  blocks  along  the  street 
from  the  bridge  to  the  Kirochnaya,  while  those  respon- 


138    RUSSIA  FROM  THE  AMERICAN  EMBASSY 

sible  had  driven  rapidly  away  with  their  death-dealing 
machine.  What  a  catastrophe  to  the  Government  and 
what  shouts  of  triumph  broke  exultingly  from  the  Bol- 
shevik leaders  when  informed  of  this  coup !  Where  were 
the  armored  motor  cars  of  the  government?  With  the 
same  speed  with  which  the  Bolsheviks  had  fled  after  the 
encounter  the  Government's  armored  cars,  the  only  real 
aid  which  might  have  saved  the  Cossacks,  had  been 
rushed  to  a  different  section  of  the  city  where  they 
thought  they  might  be  more  needed  and  by  the  time  com- 
munication had  been  established  with  them  the  scene 
was  quiet  save  for  the  bodies  and  the  blood  in  the  street 
and  the  ever  curious  crowds  who  gathered  as  always  to 
talk  and  talk  and  talk. 

Although  the  government  won  a  technical  victory  that 
night,  as  a  survey  showed  that  450  Bolsheviks  had  paid 
the  penalty  and  about  70  Cossacks,  nevertheless  it  was 
by  so  close  a  margin  as  to  presage  their  ultimate  down- 
fall unless  new  and  radical  means  were  adopted. 

While  the  July  Revolution  showed  the  Bolsheviks  that 
their  time  had  not  quite  come,  it  showed  the  Government 
that  while  they  were  not  helpless  yet  they  still  were 
being  surely  undermined ;  and  it  showed  the  Allied  Diplo- 
mats that  unless  conditions  changed  and  changed  radi- 
cally Russia  would  soon  be  out  of  the  war  with  all  of  the 
uncertainties  and  dangers  which  that  would  mean  not 
alone  for  Russia,  but  for  the  world. 

Lenin  is  believed  to  have  fled  to  Kronstadt  disguised 
as  a  sailor.  Trotzky  was  arrested  the  following  day 
but  was  soon  freed  upon  demand  of  the  Soviet.  Soon 
after  this  temporary  inconvenience  he  was  allowed  to 
proceed  with  his  work  of  undermining  the  democratic 
government  without  hindrance  of  any  kind. 

Following  is  a  statement  by  Prince  Lvoff  which  ap- 


139 

peared  in  the  "Bourse  Gazette"  of  July  4th-17th,  con- 
cerning this  July  Revolution : 

"The  crisis  in  the  Provisional  Government,  which  de- 
veloped in  connection  with  the  Ukrainian  question,  was 
somewhat  unexpected.  Certain  members  of  the  Provi- 
sional Government  supposed  that  certain  misunderstand- 
ings and  even  disorders  might  be  produced  by  this  ques- 
tion, but  at  all  events  not  in  such  an  acute  form.  The 
cause  of  the  crisis  is  properly  not  the  Ukrainian  question. 
This  is  only  the  pretext;  the  cause  lies  considerably 
deeper.  It  lies  in  the  difference  of  the  Socialist  and 
bourgeois  standpoints.  Through  their  resignation  from 
the  Provisional  Government  the  Cadets  added  the  last 
touch  to  a  sufficiently  difficult  situation:  Owing  to  their 
resignation  the  impression  is  produced  that  the  best 
organized  portion  of  the  Bourgeoisie,  the  spokesmen  of 
which  are  the  Cadets,  is  in  opposition  to  the  whole  Gov- 
ernment. There  cannot  be  any  question  of  discussing 
the  persons  who  shall  take  place  in  the  new  Ministry. 
The  program  for  immediate  action  of  the  new  Govern- 
ment must  be  made  clear  and  only  thereafter  would  it 
be  possible  to  call  those  individuals. 

"Rumors  of  the  entire  breaking  up  of  the  Provisional 
Government,  which  are  agitating  the  population,  are  en- 
tirely unfounded.  The  Provisional  Government,  not- 
withstanding the  resignation  of  some  of  its  members 
who  belong  to  the  party  of  national  freedom,  continues 
to  exist.  The  Provisional  Government  is  animated  only 
by  its  former  endeavors  to  realize  all  the  main  lines 
of  the  Revolution  and  to  bring  the  country  to  the  Su- 
preme Constituent  Assembly  which  will  settle  the  destiny 
of  the  country  and  the  people.  The  agitation  among  the 
troops  and  the  excesses  that  have  taken  place  during  the 
evening  and  the  night  will,  I  am  convinced,  cease  by 
morning.  Entire  calm  will  very  soon  be  restored.  The 
majority  of  the  garrison  is  on  the  side  of  the  Provisional 
Government,  and  this  is  a  guarantee  that  order  will 
speedily  be  reestablished.  The  armed  demonstration  of 
military  bodies  is  shameful  and  sad,  and  is  not  the  result 
of  the  resignation  of  the  Cadets  from  the  Provisional 


140    RUSSIA  FROM  THE  AMERICAN  EMBASSY 

Government.  The  immediate  cause  for  these  demon- 
strations must  be  sought  in  the  fermentation  produced 
among  the  troops  of  Petrograd  by  the  reformation  of 
the  Regiment  of  Grenadiers.  The  crisis  of  the  Provi- 
sional Government  will  be  closed  by  the  formation  of  a 
new  coalition  Cabinet." 

During  the  outbreak  some  automobiles,  armed  with 
machine  guns,  went  to  the  Warsaw  station.  The  soldiers 
sitting  in  them  stated  that  they  had  been  ordered  to  ar- 
rest the  Minister  of  War.  The  soldiers,  however,  were 
too  late.  » The  train  which  carried  the  Minister  of  War 
to  the  front  had  left  the  station  fifteen  minutes  before 
their  arrival. 

Other  incidents  of  the  Revolution  reported  by  the 
Bourse  Gazette  were  as  follows : 

"At  9 :40  p.m.  an  automobile  armed  with  machine  guns, 
with  six  armed  and  four  unarmed  men,  drew  up  to  Prince 
Lvoff's  door.  The  men  demanded  the  surrender  of  all 
the  Ministers  in  the  apartment,  and  stated  that  they 
requisitioned  all  the  automobiles  of  the  Provisional  Gov- 
ernment. This  information  was  carried  to  the  Ministers 
in  session,  Prince  Lvoff,  Tseretelli,  Chernou  and  Nek- 
rasoff.  Tseretelli  expressed  the  desire  to  speak  with 
the  men,  but  while  he  was  going  to  the  door  the  armed 
automobile  disappeared.  At  ten  o'clock  the  automobile 
reappeared  and  the  Ministers  could  not  be  informed  of 
it  as  one  of  the  two  automobiles  of  the  Provisional  Gov- 
ernment standing  by  the  door  was  seized  and  removed. 
It  turned  out  to  be  the  one  belonging  to  Minister  Tsere- 
telli. To  the  porter  who  said  that  Tseretelli  had  asked 
that  the  motor  should  not  be  touched,  they  answered, 
'One  automobile  will  do  for  me,' — During  the  evening 
Bolshevik  soldiers  requisitioned  all  the  automobiles  of 
the  members  of  the  Provisional  Government,  as  well  as 
all  the  motors  in  the  garages  of  the  former  palace. 

"Late  at  night  the  Minister  of  Justice  was  informed 
that  the  printing  presses  of  the  Novoe  Vremya  had 
been  seized.  The  Minister  of  Justice  applied  for  assist- 


THE  JULY  REVOLUTION  141 

ance  to  the  Commander  of  Troops,  who  replied,  'The 
military  authorities  are  powerless  to  take  any  meas- 
ures.' " 

Had  the  Provisional  Government  at  this  time  ar- 
raigned Lenin  and  Trotzky  and  the  other  Bolshevik 
leaders,  tried  them  for  treason  and  executed  them,  Russia 
probably  would  not  have  been  compelled  to  go  through 
another  revolution,  would  have  been  spared  the  reign  of 
terror,  and  the  loss  from  famine  and  murder  of  millions 
of  her  sons  and  daughters. 

Prince  Lvoff  resigned  from  the  Presidency  of  the  Pro- 
visional Government  shortly  after  this  attempted  revo- 
lution. He  was  not  forced  out,  but  broken-hearted  and 
in  despair  over  his  country's  plight,  probably  on  account 
of  the  failure  of  his  colleagues  to  mete  out  due  punish- 
ment to  Lenin  and  Trotzky  and  their  like.  The  govern- 
ment may  not  have  felt  that  it  had  the  strength  to  do 
this,  or  may  have  feared  the  effect  of  executing  Lenin 
and  Trotzky  would  be  to  make  martyrs  of  them  and  so 
strengthen  their  hold  on  their  followers.  Whatever  may 
have  been  their  reasons,  I  am  persuaded  now,  as  I  felt 
at  the  time,  that  the  government  showed  decided  weak- 
ness. In  fact,  I  so  expressed  myself  at  the  time  to  the 
Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs,  Terestchenko.  Drastic  ac- 
tion might  have  precipitated  the  revolution  which  took 
place  in  the  following  November,  but  I  am  convinced  in 
the  light  of  subsequent  events  that  whatever  the  immedi- 
ate result,  the  consequences  of  executing  Lenin  and 
Trotzky  would  have  been  of  benefit  to  Russia  in  the  long 
run  and  would  have  produced  less  unrest  than  now  pre- 
vails throughout  the  world.  The  Russian  army  was  not 
then  so  demoralized  as  it  became  four  months  later. 
Korniloff  and  Alexieff  and  Brousiloff  and  other  brave 
soldiers  were  then  living  and  the  Intelligencia  and  Bour- 


142    RUSSIA  FROM  THE  AMERICAN  EMBASSY 

geoisie  had  not  been  so  decimated  by  famine  and  slaugh- 
ter as  they  soon  were. 

Furthermore,  I  doubt  whether  two  more  as  strong 
characters  as  Lenin  and  Trotzky  could  have  been  found 
among  the  Bolsheviks  of  the  entire  world. 


CHAPTER  XI 

THE  PROVISIONAL   GOVERNMENT  AND  THE  FORCES  OF 
DESTRUCTION 

EVEN  though  Lenin  and  Trotzky  and  their  fellow  con- 
spirators had  not  been  shot  as  traitors  as  they  should 
have  been,  Lenin  was  a  fugitive  and  was  supposed  to  have 
fled  to  the  ever-ready  protection  of  Germany  while 
Trotzky  was  under  arrest.  The  Provisional  Government 
had  asserted  itself  even  though  all  too  feebly,  had  put 
down  open  insurrection,  and  restored  a  semblance  of 
order.  The  most  reassuring  act  of  the  Ministry,  at  least 
in  my  view,  was  the  appointment  of  General  Korniloff 
as  Commander-in-Chief  of  all  the  Russian  forces.  He 
immediately  began  to  restore  discipline. 

On  August  7th,  1917,  I  wrote  to  Charles  K.  Moser, 
American  Consul  at  Harbin,  China,  a  letter  in  which  I 
commented  on  the  new  government  in  these  terms : 

"It  is  a  Coalition  Government  in  which  all  political 
parties  are  represented.  Kerensky  in  addition  to  being 
President  is  also  Minister  of  War,  but  under  him  Savin- 
koff  is  the  Executive  Head  of  the  War  Department  and 
Lebedev  is  Executive  Head  of  the  Navy.  Nekrasoff  is 
nominal  Minister  of  Finance,  but  the  Director  of  the 
Department  is  Bernatsky,  a  University  Professor,  and 
the  Assistant  Minister  is  a  practical  banker  named  Glas- 
berg,  a  Jew  of  good  standing.  So  that  there  are  fifteen 
Ministers  and  three  additional  executives.  Kerensky, 
•  Nekrasoff  and  Terestchenko  are  all  supposed  to  repre- 
sent no  parties.  Of  the  remaining  fifteen  three  are  Social 
Democrats,  four  are  Social  Revolutionists,  two  are  Na- 

143 


144    RUSSIA  FROM  THE  AMERICAN  EMBASSY 

tional  Socialists,  four  are  Cadets  and  two  are  Radical 
Democrats.  I  have  not  the  time  to  explain  the  difference 
between  these  parties — don't  think  I  could  if  I  had  the 
time.  Of  the  fifteen  Ministers,  however,  nine  are  Social- 
ists and  six  are  non-Socialists. 

.* 'Lenin  is  now  a  fugitive  and  is  supposed  to  be  in  Ger- 
many. The  Bolsheviks  gave  a  so-called  'peaceful  demon- 
stration of  power'  July  16th  and  17th  on  the  streets  of 
Petrograd  in  which  four  hundred  people  were  reported 
killed,  of  which  seventy  were  Cossacks,  but  exactly  the 
number  of  casualties  has  never  been  ascertained.  The 
Bolsheviks  are  now  in  great  disfavor,  and  their  leaders 
are  being  arrested — one,  Trotzky,  was  arrested  yester- 
day; he  was  an  exiled  Russian  Jew,  who  returned  from 
America  two  or  three  months  ago  and  immediately  set 
his  mouth  going  since  which  it  has  never  ceased  to  oper- 
ate. If  we  could  keep  such  men  in  America  they  could 
be  handled  much  better  than  they  can  be  in  Russia  at  the 
present  time.  Tseretelli,  a  well-poised  Socialist  who 
has  been  in  the  Ministry,  has  resigned  and  it  is  feared 
will  be  the  leader  of  the  Workingmen's  and  Soldiers' 
and  Peasants'  Deputies  who  are  likely  to  oppose  the  new 
Government. 

' '  Kerensky  is  unquestionably  the  most  influential  man 
in  Russia;  some  of  his  own  people  say  he  has  it  in  mind 
to  be  a  second  Napoleon,  consequently  effort  is  being 
made  to  undermine  him.  He  is  only  34  years  of  age  and 
if  his  head  is  not  turned  by  the  adulation  he  is  receiving 
he  is  indeed  a  wonderful  man.  He  is  now  living  in  the 
Winter  Palace  and  sleeping  in  the  bed  of  Alexander  the 
Third,  which  is  not  good  politically  to  say  the  least.  He 
addressed  last  night  the  all-Russian  Congress  of  Peas- 
ants and  when  he  told  them  he  was  appointed  their 
President  as  Minister  of  the  Interior  they  applauded  him 
vigorously.  Then  he  said:  "I  continue  as  President  or 


ALEXANDER  KERENSKY 

The  writing  across  the  picture  reads  in  translation:   "In  memory  of  friendly 
conversations  through  bright  but  difficult  days" 


THE  FORCES  OF  DESTRUCTION  145 

Premier  of  the  Government,"  whereupon  the  applause 
was  terrific.  I  will  make  no  prophecies  concerning  the 
future,  which  is  uncertain.  In  Russia  now  it  is  presump- 
tion to  prophesy  in  the  forenoon  what  will  occur  in  the 
afternoon. 

"Food  is  very  scarce  here  and  if  at  any  time  you  can 
find  a  man  who  will  bring  me  fifty  pounds  of  breakfast 
bacon  I  would  appreciate  it  and  will  promptly  remit  you 
not  only  the  cost  but  will  send  you  a  souvenir  in  addition 
if  you  will  tell  me  what  there  is  in  Petrograd  you  would 
like  to  have — always  provided  it  is  obtainable,  as  most 
of  the  stores  here  now  are  closed  and  those  remaining 
open  have  very  depleted  stocks.'* 

In  a  long  letter  written  to  my  son  David  a  week  later, 
which  was  really  a  diary  of  four  or  five  weeks  of  this 
critical  period,  I  said: 

"The  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs,  Terestchenko,  told 
me  on  his  return  from  the  front  a  few  days  ago,  when 
I  asked  him  about  General  Korniloff,  the  new  Com- 
mander-in-Chief  of  the  Russian  Army,  some  most  ab- 
sorbing experiences  of  his.  General  Korniloff  is  a  Cos- 
sack, a  man  of  about  50  years  of  age,  rather  small  of 
stature  and  not  robust  in  appearance  but  with  an  iron 
constitution.  He  speaks  seventeen  languages  and  is  thus 
able  to  address  each  division  and  brigade  and  even  each 
regiment  in  its  own  tongue.  This  makes  him  exceedingly 
popular.  The  Cossacks  f  ollow  him  around  and  are  ever 
on  the  alert  to  protect  him  against  possible  danger  or  to 
do  whatever  they  think  will  please  him.  If  his  constitu- 
tion is  iron,  his  will  is  steel.  Soon  after  taking  command 
he  had  one  hundred  deserters  shot  and  their  bodies  stood 
up  by  the  roadside  with  a  placard  on  each  reading,  "I 
was  shot  because  I  ran  away  from  the  enemy  and  was 
a  traitor  to  Russia,'  When  advised  that  several  Ger- 
man and  Austrian  officers  had  surrendered,  his  suspi- 


cions  were  aroused  and  he  ordered  their  knapsacks  and 
effects  searched.  Literature  in  Russian  was  found, 
which  had  been  printed  in  Germany,  and  advocating  a 
separate  peace  along  the  lines  of  Bolshevik  preachments 
which  were  demoralizing  the  army  and  which  had  for 
many  weeks  disturbed  Petrograd  and  other  cities 
throughout  Russia,  He  ordered  all  of  those  officers  shot 
and  had  their  bodies  stood  up  by  the  roadside  also.  Gen- 
eral Korniloff  was  wounded  in  1915  and  taken  a  prisoner 
by  the  Austrians.  When  he  recovered  he  put  on  the  uni- 
form of  a  private  Austrian  soldier  and  escaped.  He 
walked  800  versts,  about  600  miles.  His  linguistic  accom- 
plishments enabled  him  to  talk  to  all  the  people  whom 
he  encountered  in  their  own  tongue.  One  night  when  he 
was  being  guided  by  an  Austrian  shepherd  they  both 
climbed  a  tree  while  a  company  of  cavalry  was  passing. 
The  shepherd  showed  General  Korniloff  a  circular  in 
the  shepherd's  language  describing  Korniloff,  stating  he 
had  escaped  from  an  Austrian  prison,  and  offering  fifty 
thousand  Austrian  crowns  for  his  capture.  The  shep- 
herd said  that  he  would  like  very  much  to  capture  Gen- 
eral Korniloff  and  get  the  fifty  thousand  crowns. 

"I  met  General  Korniloff  the  day  he  resigned  the  com- 
mand of  the  Petrograd  Military  District,  of  which  he 
had  been  in  charge  since  the  first  day  of  the  Revolution. 
He  told  me  in  English  that  he  did  not  like  his  position  and 
was  going  to  resign  to  go  to  the  front.  The  papers  next 
morning  stated  he  had  resigned.  Upon  going  to  the 
front  he  was  given  command  of  a  brigade,  but  rapidly 
rose  to  be  a  divisional  commander  then  a  corps  com- 
mander, next  an  army  commander,  and  finally  to  be  the 
Commander-in-Chief  of  all  the  Russian  forces,  which 
number  at  least  ten  million  men.  Russia  has  called  into 
service  over  sixteen  million  men,  but  three  or  four  mil- 


THE  FORCES  OF  DESTRUCTION     147 

lion  of  them  have  been  killed,  are  in  hospitals  or  have 
deserted. 

"  There  was  a  meeting  yesterday  afternoon  at  the 
Narodni  Dom,  the  largest  auditorium  in  Petrograd.  All 
of  the  Ambassadors  were  invited  to  take  loges,  but  the 
Japanese  Ambassador  and  myself  were  the  only  ones 
in  attendance.  I  arrived  accompanied  by  my  Naval  At- 
tache, Commander  Crossley,  an  hour  or  more  after  the 
exercises  had  begun  and  after  Kerensky  had  spoken  from 
his  loge.  After  some  difficulty  experienced  by  the  Rus- 
sian officer  who  conducted  me,  I  was  shown  to  mine, 
whereupon  Kerensky  saluted  me,  and  immediately  came 
in  a  white  uniform,  with  his  aide,  from  his  loge  to  mine 
and  thanked  me  for  attending.  Very  few  in  the  immense 
audience  knew  me,  but  all  of  them  knew  Kerensky  and 
when  he  pointedly  made  his  way  through  the  crowd  to 
greet  me  the  curiosity  of  the  audience  was  aroused  as 
to  my  identity.  Kerensky  only  remained  a  few  minutes 
and  then  left  the  building.  Some  minutes  later  Miliu- 
koff  was  called  to  the  platform,  and  made  in  Russian 
what  I  was  told  was  an  eloquent  speech.  During  his 
talk  he  alluded  to  America's  part  in  the  war  and  pointed 
to  the  American  Ambassador,  whereupon  there  was  great 
applause,  the  entire  audience  rising  and  continuing  the 
ovation  for  several  minutes.  I  arose  and  acknowledged 
the  compliment  and  bowed  but  made  no  speech.  There 
was  a  call  for  the  American  hymn  but  the  band  was  com- 
pelled to  admit  it  knew  no  distinctive  American  air.  .  .  . 

'  *  Mrs.  Pankhurst,  the  English  Suffragist,  came  to  Pet- 
rograd about  five  or  six  weeks  ago  not  for  the  purpose 
of  fighting  for  votes  for  women,  as  suffrage  had  already 
been  thrust  upon  the  Russian  women  without  any  effort 
or  expressed  desire  on  their  part,  but  for  the  purpose  of 
counteracting  the  Bolshevik  or  separate  peace  influence 
and  to  infuse  some  courage  into  the  Russian  army  which 


had  been  threatening  to  cease  fighting  and  was  opening 
debating  societies  not  only  at  every  front  but  in  every 
division  and  brigade,  and  even  in  every  regiment.  Mrs. 
Pankhurst  held  a  meeting  at  Hotel  Astoria,  where  she 
was  stopping,  which  was  presided  over  by  Mrs.  McAl- 
lister Smith,  an  American  lady  who  had  interested  Lady 
Georgina  Buchanan,  the  wife  of  the  British  Ambassador ; 
Mrs.  Butler  Wright,  the  wife  of  my  Counselor,  and  sev- 
eral other  ladies.  I  attended  the  meeting  as  did  the 
Italian  Ambassador  and  the  Roumanian  Minister.  Mrs. 
Pankhurst  was  talking  when  I  entered  the  room  and 
quietly  took  a  seat  in  the  audience.  I  soon  became  inter- 
ested in  her  remarks  which  were  extremely  sensible,  be- 
ing attracted  by  the  intonations  of  her  voice,  by  her  easy 
delivery  and  most  of  all  by  her  excellent  choice  of  words. 
"Several  days  before  the  formation  of  the  Coalition 
Ministry  Mrs.  Pankhurst,  assisted  by  Mme.  D.  C.,  a  Rus- 
sian lady  (I  would  give  her  name  but  as  she  is  still  in 
Petrograd  it  might  cause  her  trouble),  obtained  an  audi- 
ence with  Kerensky — Mrs.  Pankhurst  had  requested  me 
through  a  third  party  to  secure  this  audience  but  I  in- 
quired why  she  did  not  have  her  own  Ambassador  do  it 
and  was  told  that  she  had  asked  Sir  George  Buchanan  to 
secure  the  audience  but  he  had  refused,  whereupon  I 
declined  also.  Immediately  after  the  audience  this  Rus- 
sian lady  came  to  the  American  Embassy  and  in  a  very 
nervous  and  excited  manner,  told  me  that  Kerensky,  in 
talking  to  herself  and  Mrs.  P.  (who  could  understand  no 
Russian  and  K.  could  speak  no  English  and  very  indif- 
ferent French),  threatened  to  resign  and  she  feared  he 
would  and  become  the  leader  of  the  Bolsheviks ;  that  he 
said  he  would  resign  and  let  some  one  act  who  loved  Rus- 
sia more  than  he,  if  they  could  find  any  one.  I  asked  my 
informant  what  she  wished  me  to  do.  She  replied :  ' '  Send 
for  Miliukoff . ' '  I  said  he  had  no  influence  with  Kerensky 


THE  FORCES  OF  DESTRUCTION     149 

by  whom  he  was  forced  out  of  the  Ministry ;  she  replied 
that  she  was  aware  of  that,  but  that  at  an  informal  meet- 
ing of  Duma  members,  Miliukoff  had  valiantly  and  ably 
defended  Kerensky.  I  thereupon  agreed  to  telephone 
Miliukoif  and  ask  him  to  come  to  the  American  Embassy. 
He  came  and  I  related  to  him  what  I  had  heard  and  told 
him  the  source  of  my  information;  he  listened  atten- 
tively and  after  remarking  that  he  was  going  to  Moscow 
at  7:30  p.m.  that  evening  (it  was  6  p.m.  when  I  was 
talking  to  him),  he  said  he  was  not  surprised  at  my 
narrative,  as  K.  had  arrived  at  the  parting  of  the  ways, 
and  that  if  he  remained  as  President  of  the  Council  of 
Ministers  he  must  break  with  his  old  associates,  and  he 
was  in  consequence  nervous  and  overwrought.  I  asked 
him  if  K.  should  resign  who  would  form  the  ministry. 
He  replied  that  K.  was  the  only  man  to  select  a  cabinet 
and  the  only  one  who  could  save  Russia  from  a  Bolshevik 
government.  I  mentioned  Nekrasoff  who  was  Vice- 
President  of  the  Ministry,  and  Terestchenko  Minister  of 
Foreign  Affairs,  and  Tseretelli  a  member  of  the  Ministry, 
and  holding  the  portfolio  of  the  Interior,  I  think,  and 
Tchernof,  Minister  of  Labor,  but  he  said  no  one  of  those 
could  cope  with  Lenin  and  Trotzky.  "Well,"  I  said  to 
him,  "you  must  postpone  your  Moscow  trip  and  attend 
the  meeting  at  the  Winter  Palace  tonight. ' '  Whereupon 
M.  consented  to  do  so;  in  my  judgment  he  was  the  real 
leader  of  the  First  Revolution,  as  I  have  said  heretofore, 
and  a  sincere  and  zealous  lover  of  Russia. 

"Miliukoff  left  the  Embassy  about  6:30.  I  went 
to  the  Foreign  Office  at  7,  according  to  appoint- 
ment with  Terestchenko,  and  upon  arrival  was  told  that 
Kerensky  had  resigned  about  an  hour  and  a  half  pre- 
vious, and  that  the  Council  of  Ministers  would  meet  at 
9  o'clock  to  act  upon  his  resignation.  The  resignation 
was  presented,  and  the  Council  of  Ministers  decided  to 


150    RUSSIA  FROM  THE  AMERICAN  EMBASSY 

call  a  conference  of  the  leaders  of  all  parties  to  confer 
about  the  situation.  This  meeting  assembled  in  the 
Winter  Palace  about  midnight  and  continued  in  session 
until  7 :30  the  next  morning.  Miliukoff  was  present  and 
spoke  several  times — in  fact  seemed  to  be  the  guiding 
spirit  of  the  meeting.  The  outcome  assumed  no  definite 
shape  but  resulted  in  Kerensky  being  appealed  to  to 
form  a  new  Ministry.  In  the  meantime  Kerensky  had 
left  the  city  and  only  a  few  of  his  closest  friends  knew 
where  he  had  gone  or  when  he  would  return,  if  at  all. 
By  this  time  it  was  the  morning  of  Saturday,  August 
4th.  Kerensky  returned  to  the  city  Sunday  morning 
and  began  the  formation  of  a  new  Ministry  which  was 
perfected  about  4  p.  m.,  Monday,  August  6th,  and  an- 
nounced in  the  papers  the  next  morning.  That  is  the 
present  Ministry  which  met  with  general  favor  and  has 
been  growing  in  strength  from  that  day  to  this.  Having 
confidence  in  this  Ministry,  I  have  recommended  to  my 
Government  that  an  additional  credit  of  sixty  million 
dollars  be  extended  to  Russia. 

"It  is  impossible  to  tell  to  what  extent  this  course  of 
events  was  affected  by  the  interview  of  Mrs.  Pank- 
hurst  and  this  Russian  lady  with  Kerensky.  If,  however, 
I  had  not  seen  Miliukoff  he  would  probably  have  gone  to 
Moscow  as  he  had  planned ;  Kerensky  might  possibly  in 
that  case  have  declined  to  form  a  Ministry  and  another 
less  able  and  less  worthy  Government  might  have  come 
into  power." 

It  may  be  admissible  to  add  here  a  few  observations 
which  I  made  in  a  letter  written  about  this  time  in  regard 
to  the  effect  which  it  seemed  to  me  the  war  was  bound 
to  have  upon  the  position  of  women  and  of  labor  and  in 
class  distinctions.  Obviously  whatever  interest  these 
observations  may  have  is  derived  chiefly  from  the  fact 
that  they  were  made  in  1917  rather  than  in  1919.  I  said : 


THE  FORCES  OF  DESTRUCTION     151 

"The  experience  of  the  past  two  and  one-half  years 
in  the  countries  engaged  in  war  has  taught  them  many 
lessons  valuable  indeed,  although  in  some  instances  very 
costly.  I  think  this  war  has  done  more  for  woman  than 
anything  which  has  occurred  since  the  birth  of  Christ. 
The  teachings  of  the  lowly  Nazarene  did  more  for  woman 
than  had  ever  been  done  in  the  history  of  the  world  up 
to  that  time.  The  demonstration  made  by  woman  of  her 
ability  to  aid  her  country  in  difficulty  and  strife  and  in 
accomplishing  a  worthy  end  has  been  demonstrated  in 
this  war  and  hereafter  whatever  kind  of  peace  may  be 
negotiated,  woman  will  be  given  more  consideration  and 
will  be  a  more  potential  factor  not  only  in  the  affairs 
and  development  of  the  government  to  which  she  owes 
fealty  but  in  international  affairs  also.  Woman  has  not 
had  a  position  anywhere  in  the  world  that  will  compare 
with  that  which  has  been  accorded  her  in  America  and 
in  England.  In  Russia  heretofore  women  have  been 
treated  as  chattels  merely,  while  in  Germany  they  have 
been  looked  upon  almost  as  beasts  of  burden,  who  were 
compelled  to  do  not  only  common  labor  but  the  lowest 
forms  of  such  labor  and  at  times  were  obliged  to  work 
side  by  side  with  the  dogs. 

"In  the  next  place  I  think  another  result  of  this  war 
will  be  to  dignify  labor  of  all  kinds ;  every  country  has 
had  to  reckon  with  the  labor  interests  whose  rights  as 
human  beings  many  people  have  been  disposed  to  ignore. 
In  my  judgment  also  another  effect  will  be  the  abolition 
of  class  distinctions  in  countries  where  such  distinctions 
still  exist.  There  have  fortunately  never  been  any  titles 
of  nobility  in  America;  Jefferson  prevented  that  by  his 
fight  against  the  law  of  primogeniture,  but  they  have 
survived  in  most  European  countries,  and  are  not  only 
a  great  injustice  to  all  children  after  the  first  but  pre- 


152    RUSSIA  FROM  THE  AMERICAN  EMBASSY 

serve  classes  of  nobility,  the  representatives  of  which 
are  by  no  means  always  worthy  of  the  preeminence  and 
good  fortune  that  falls  to  their  lot.  After  this  war  every 
man  and  every  woman  must  by  service  show  why  he  or 
she  is  given  the  privilege  of  living." 


CHAPTER  XII 
THE  BREAK  BETWEEN  KEBENSKY  AND  KORNILOFF 

NOT  long  after  the  formation  of  the  Coalition  Ministry 
there  were  two  Congresses  held  at  Moscow — one  the  Ail- 
Russian  Cossack  Congress  and  the  other  the  All-Russian 
Congress  of  Soldiers  and  Workmen. 

When  I  mentioned  these  approaching  Congresses  to 
Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs  Terestchenko  he  said  they 
would  result  in  nothing  except  talk,  but  that  the  Govern- 
ment had  nothing  to  fear  from  them.  The  forecast  of 
the  Minister  seems  to  have  been  correct  as  far  as  it  went, 
as  indicated  by  the  following  comments  on  the  Con- 
gresses and  attendant  conditions  in  Moscow  received  by 
me  from  Consul-General  Summers  at  the  time: 

"The  political  situation  here  is  interesting.  General 
Korniloff  arrived  yesterday  and  there  is  much  guessing 
at  what  he  will  do.  The  speech  of  Kerensky  seems  to 
have  fallen  flat,  as  he  laid  out  no  program  nor  did  he 
make  any  new  declarations.  There  was  absolutely  no 
disorder,  and  the  local  papers  content  themselves  with 
giving  the  speeches  of  the  orators.  Only  Korniloff 's 
arrival  appeared  to  interest  the  public.  He  was  preceded 
through  the  main  streets  with  an  escort  of  twenty  or 
thirty  automobiles  full  of  picturesque  Cossacks  and  of- 
ficers of  the  St.  George  Cavaliers.  He  was  applauded 
everywhere.  All  day  the  streets  were  crowded  with  well- 
groomed  soldiers  and  officers  of  the  St.  George  Cavaliers. 
They  were  shown  sympathy  everywhere. 

' '  There  can  be  no  cooperation  with  the  radical  element 
on  the  part  of  the  intelligencia  of  the  country  as  long 

153 


154    RUSSIA  FROM  THE  AMERICAN  EMBASSY 

as  all  rights  and  opinions  are  trampled  down.  A  man 
is  not  going  to  give  up  without  a  struggle  all  that  he  has 
and  for  which  he  has  labored.  There  can  be  no  coopera- 
tion between  two  parties  one  of  which  is  doing  its  level 
best  to  destroy  instead  of  construct  all  that  stands  for 
liberty,  freedom  and  rights  of  men.  Nor  can  there  be 
any  hope  for  a  party  which  stands,  for  a  moment,  and 
more  particularly  at  the  present  time,  for  any  semblance 
of  anarchism  or  insubordination.  Who  is  it  that  is  giv- 
ing their  lives  at  the  present  to  their  country?  It  is  the 
body  of  officers  constituting  the  conservative,  patriotic 
backbone  of  the  country,  and  not  the  anarchist  who  seems 
to  have  the  upper  hand  at  Petrograd.  There  is  a  wave 
of  disgust  at  the  manner  in  which  the  Government  has 
been  conducted  up  to  the  present,  and  to  the  incompe- 
tency  and  insincerity  of  the  radical  cabinets.  This  feel- 
ing is  rapidly  growing  and  is  penetrating  all  soberly 
thinking  people  who  do  not  now  hesitate  to  organize 
against  a  further  continuance  of  such  comedies  as  have 
been  pulled  off  at  Petrograd.  The  Moscow  people  have 
received  the  conference  with  a  coldness  to  be  expected. 
The  papers  give  the  speeches  of  the  politicians  without 
a  remark.  The  people  themselves  consider  that  the 
Moscow  industrial  and  conservative  element  only  can 
save  the  situation.  They  have  no  patience  with  empty 
words  and  misgovernments. 

''The  foreign  newspaper  correspondents  are  of  the 
opinion  that  the  conferences  have  fallen  flat  and  that  the 
situation  is  just  what  it  was  before,  or  even  more  serious, 
as  nothing  has  been  done  in  the  way  of  laying  down  a 
program.  The  Council  of  Workmen  and  Soldiers  re- 
mained seated  when  the  General-in-Chief  of  the  Army 
arose  to  speak.  This  is  considered  here  as  a  challenge 
to  the  military  code  of  discipline. 

"Miliukoff's  speech  was  not  considered  what  it  might 


155 

have  been  or  what  the  excited  feelings  of  his  party  might 
have  led  one  to  believe  that  he  would  make.  Korniloff  's 
speech  also  was  not  considered  as  containing  a  challenge. 
There  was,  in  summing  up  the  whole  matter,  nothing 
done  of  any  importance,  each  side  only  feebly  declaring 
what  a  terrible  state  the  country  was  in  without  giving 
the  sick  man  any  medicine.  Moreover,  as  a  Russian  said 
to  me  this  morning,  it  was  a  case  where  the  sick  man 
was  being  attended  by  disagreeing  doctors.  Woe  to  him, 
especially  as  the  doctors  are  young  and  inexperienced 
in  their  profession." 

Although  both  Congresses  passed  resolutions  endors- 
ing the  Government  these  resolutions  were  so  restrained 
and  were  carried  with  such  lack  of  enthusiasm  as  to 
amount  to  ' '  damning  by  faint  praise. '  ' 

The  outlook  in  Russia  at  this  time  was  indeed  dark 
and  had  been  growing  steadily  worse  for  several  months. 
There  was  fraternization  and  mutiny  at  the  front  with 
strikes,  pillage,  robbery  and  famine  in  the  rear.  As  if 
the  situation  was  not  in  all  conscience  bad  enough  a  tragic 
break  between  General  Korniloff  and  Premier  Kerensky, 
the  two  main  pillars,  upon  whom  what  hope  there  was 
left  for  the  salvation  of  Russia  rested,  occurred  a  few 
weeks  later.  By  this  added  complication  this  stricken 
country  was  simultaneously  threatened  by  ruthless  for- 
eign invasion,  smoldering  internal  revolution  and  open 
civil  war. 

I  have  subsequently  learned  that  the  Kerensky-Korni- 
loff  break  occurred  in  the  following  manner:  V.  N.  Lvoff, 
former  Procurator  of  the  Holy  Synod  (who  should  not  be 
confused  with  Prince  Lvoff,  former  President  of  the 
Ministry),  after  several  conversations  with  Kerensky, 
went  to  General  Korniloff  and  proposed  to  him  that  he 
and  Kerensky  combine  against  the  constantly  and  alarm- 


156    RUSSIA  FROM  THE  AMERICAN  EMBASSY 

ingly  growing  power  of  the  Bolsheviks,  who  were  work- 
ing through  the  Council  of  Workmen's,  Soldiers'  and 
Peasants '  Deputies.  While  Lvoff  did  not  specifically  state 
to  Korniloff  that  he  represented  Kerensky  it  is  never- 
theless probable  that  he  allowed  him  to  gain  that  impres- 
sion. As  a  matter  of  fact,  Kerensky  had  not  authorized 
him  to  represent  him,  or  to  make  such  a  proposal.  He 
was  acting  entirely  on  his  own  responsibility.  General 
Korniloff  replied  that  he  would  enter  into  such  an  under- 
taking with  Kerensky  provided  he,  Korniloff,  were  placed 
at  the  head  of  the  Government;  that  he  would  have  no 
objection  to  Kerensky  occupying  his  former  post  as  Min- 
ister of  Justice  or  to  Savinkov  being  Minister  of  War. 

Kerensky,  amazed  at  this  sweeping  proposal,  which 
came  without  warning  or  provocation  as  far  as  he  was 
aware,  called  General  Korniloff  on  the  long  distance 
telephone  at  his  Military  Headquarters  and  inquired 
whether  Lvoff  was  his  representative  and  authorized 
by  him  to  make  the  proposal  he  had  just  made.  Korni- 
loff without  even  taking  the  precaution  to  ask  Kerensky 
to  state  the  proposal  made  by  Lvoff  replied  in  the  affirm- 
ative. Kerensky,  his  pride  wounded  and  greatly  incensed, 
ordered  Lvoff  placed  under  arrest  and  notified  General 
Korniloff  that  he  was  relieved  of  his  command  and  should 
regard  himself  as  under  arrest.  Korniloff,  enraged  at 
this  reception  of  his  reply  to  the  proposal  which,  as  he 
believed,  had  been  sent  him  by  Kerensky,  retaliated  by 
issuing  a  proclamation  in  which  he  announced  his  inten- 
tion of  marching  his  army  against  Petrograd  and  seizing 
the  governmental  power. 

This  action  had  the  effect  of  leading  Kerensky  to  turn 
to  the  Workmen's  and  Soldiers'  Deputies  for  the  support 
of  his  threatened  Government  and  led  him  to  make  his 
final  and  fatal  blunder  of  distributing  arms  and  ammu- 
nition to  the  workingmen  of  Petrograd,  in  order  that 


KEEENSKY  AND  KOENILOFF  157 

they  might  help  to  defend  his  tottering  regime  against 
Korniloff  and  his  advancing  army.  In  other  words,  he 
found  himself  in  the  predicament  where  he  had  to  arm 
one  group  of  virtual  enemies  of  his  Government  in  order 
to  prevent  its  overthrow  by  another  and  more  imme- 
diately threatening  hostile  group.  After  things  had  been 
brought  to  this  pass  the  position  of  the  Kerensky  Govern- 
ment was  hopeless.  Its  overthrow  was  only  a  matter  of 
time.  Had  Lvoff  been  a  wise  and  strong  man  instead  of 
the  meddlesome  rattle-brain  that  he  was,  and  had  Keren- 
sky  been  big  enough  to  place  his  country's  welfare  above 
his  own  pride  and  seek  some  middle  ground  upon  which 
he  and  Korniloff  might  have  worked  against  the  Bol- 
sheviks— their  common  enemies — they  might  between 
them  have  rescued  Eussia  and  the  world  from  the  curse 
of  Bolshevism ;  and  have  given  the  Constituent  Assembly, 
the  time  for  convening  of  which  had  already  been  fixed, 
a  chance  to  establish  a  government  based  upon  the  con- 
sent of  the  governed,  instead  of  upon  force  as  was  the 
Czar's  government,  and  as  is  that  of  Lenin  and  Trotzky. 
In  the  conferences  held  by  the  Allied  Ambassadors  in 
i  ef erence  to  the  Kerensky-Korniloff  embroglio  I  steadily 
maintained,  and  succeeded  in  persuading  my  fellow 
diplomats  to  accept  my  view,  that  we  should  preserve  a 
neutral  attitude.  I  argued  that  should  Korniloff  be  suc- 
cessful it  would  not  mean  a  restoration  of  the  Monarchy, 
but  merely  a  new  administration  and  a  more  vigorous 
prosecution  of  the  war.  If,  on  the  other  hand,  as  I  said 
in  my  letter  to  Judge  Priest,  Eussia  should  be  forced 
out  of  the  war  through  Kerensky 's  failure  to  restore 
discipline  in  the  army,  the  Allied  diplomats  would  re- 
ceive and  deserve  severe  censure  for  having  aided  Ker- 
ensky to  eliminate  Korniloff.  If,  on  the  contrary,  we 
were  to  support  Korniloff  and  he  should  fail  we  would 


158    RUSSIA  FROM  THE  AMERICAN  EMBASSY 

obviously  find  ourselves  in  an  impossible  position  with 
relation  to  the  Kerensky  Government. 

In  a  letter  written  at  the  time  to  Judge  Henry  S. 
Priest,  of  St.  Louis,  I  commented  thus  on  the  situation : 

"We  are  now  in  the  midst  of  a  counter-revolution 
which  appears  to  have  failed.  By  counter-revolution  I 
do  not  mean  a  restoration  of  the  monarchy  but  the  re- 
action against  the  present  Provisional  Government  which 
many  think  is  Socialistic  in  its  spirit  if  not  in  its  policies. 
General  Korniloff  who  has  been  Commander-in-Chief  for 
about  two  months  past  made  demands  of  the  Provisional 
Government  for  powers  which  were  not  granted  him 
although  they  should  have  been  as  they  were  essential 
to  the  restoration  of  discipline  among  the  soldiers  who 
are  still  maintaining  committees  and  'commissaires,' 
as  they  are  called,  who  interfered  with  the  orders  of  the 
Commander-in-Chief  and  with  the  sentences  of  courts- 
martial.  You  would  inveigh  against  these  conditions 
if  you  were  in  my  place  much  more  vigorously  than  I 
have,  and  I  am  feeling  to-night  as  if  some  expressions 
I  have  made  to  the  Government  within  the  past  few  days 
might  possibly  result  in  my  being  looked  upon  as  per- 
sona non  grata.  Being  over  six  thousand  miles  away 
from  Washington  with  very  irregular  cable  connection 
and  most  unreliable  and  uncertain  mail  communication 
I  am  often  compelled  to  act  solely  upon  my  own  judg- 
ment. I  always  cable  to  the  Government  what  I  have 
done  but  sometimes  act  without  instructions. 

"  To-day  at  a  meeting  in  the  Foreign  Office  of  the 
British,  Italian,  French  and  American  Ambassadors  with 
Terestchenko,  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs,  I  took  issue 
on  a  matter  concerning  which  the  four  others  agreed, 
but  requested  the  British  Ambassador,  as  Dean  of  the 
Diplomatic  Corps,  to  call  a  meeting  of  the  Allied  repre- 
sentatives or  the  heads  of  Missions  representing  the 


KERENSKY  AND  KORNILOFF  159 

governments  of  the  Entente.  They  are  eleven  in  num- 
ber and  had  met  last  Monday  afternoon  and  agreed  upon 
an  expression  of  their  views  and  a  tender  of  their  serv- 
ices to  the  Government  in  its  controversy  with  General 
Korniloff.  The  British  Ambassador  presented  this  ex- 
pression to  the  Foreign  Office  and  phoned  me  about  noon 
yesterday  that  it  would  be  given  to  the  afternoon  papers. 
It  did  not  appear  and  at  9 :30  p.  m.  I  received  an  auto- 
graph note  from  the  British  Ambassador  that  the  Min- 
ister of  Foreign  Affairs  had  concluded  not  to  publish 
the  action  of  the  Allied  representatives  because  such 
action  put  General  Korniloff  on  a  'par  with  the  Govern- 
ment,' but  that  he  would  publish  a  statement  in  the 
morning  papers  giving  our  position  and  our  efforts  'to 
clear  the  situation.'  When  I  reached  the  Foreign  Office 
at  12 :30  to-day  I  found  those  three  Ambassadors  in  con- 
ference with  the  Ministers  and  learned  they  had  agreed 
upon  a  statement  for  the  press  in  which  they  wished 
my  concurrence.  It  was  in  French  and,  although  I  under- 
stood it,  I  told  them  I  wished  to  consider  it  before  giving 
assent  to  its  publication,  and  suggested  to  the  British 
Ambassador  that  he  should  call  another  meeting  of  the 
eleven  Allied  representatives  by  whom  the  expression 
of  the  Allies  was  originally  framed.  By  this  time  it  was 
after  one  o'clock  and  the  British  Ambassador  asked  me 
if  I  could  attend  a  meeting  at  half  past  two.  I  replied 
that  I  could  attend  immediately,  but  he  said  that  he  must 
have  his  luncheon  (English,  wasn't  it?).  I  went  to  the 
British  Embassy  at  2 :30  p.  m.  and  found  there  only  the 
British,  Italian  and  French  Ambassadors  and  upon  in- 
quiry was  told  that  no  others  had  been  invited.  I  then 
stated  my  position,  which  was  that  we  should  insist  upon 
the  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs  giving  to  the  press  the 
expression  originally  framed  by  the  Allied  representa- 
tives. I  was  met  with  the  argument  that  these  are  the 


160    RUSSIA  FROM  THE  AMERICAN  EMBASSY 

days  of  censorship  and  that  if  the  Russian  Government 
refused  to  give  our  statement  to  the  press  we  should 
have  no  redress.  I  replied  that  we  could  have  in  any 
case  the  satisfaction  of  stating  our  views,  and  by  this 
and  other  arguments  finally  induced  my  colleagues  to 
insist  upon  the  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs  giving  to  the 
press  the  conclusions  of  the  Monday  meeting,  omitting 
merely  the  word  'mediation'  which  did  not  lessen  or 
impair  the  force  of  the  statement.  Sir  George  Buchanan 
said  he  would  call  upon  the  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs 
and  ask  the  publication  of  the  original  statement.  We 
also  instructed  Sir  George  to  inform  the  Minister  that 
if  he  did  not  give  out  this  statement  for  publication  we 
would. 

"My  objection  to  being  misrepresented  in  addition  to 
the  principles  involved  was  that  the  statement  which 
Terestchenko  wished  to  give  out  concerning  our  action 
placed  us  in  the  position  of  aiding  the  Provisional  Gov- 
ernment to  suppress  Korniloff,  which  we  had  not  done. 

"Korniloff  phoned  at  3:30  this  morning  that  he  would 
surrender,  consequently  the  Provisional  Government  is 
stronger  than  it  was  before.  If,  however,  it  does  not 
immediately  restore  discipline  in  the  army,  Russia 's  part 
in  this  war  will  be  henceforth  ineffective  and  in  fact  ab- 
solutely futile.  In  such  event  the  causes  leading  to  such 
condition  will  become  known  and  will  be  viewed  with  a 
critical  eye.  If  the  Allied  representatives  should  permit 
the  impression  that  they  aided  the  defeat  of  Korniloff 
to  prevail  they  would  receive  and  merit  severe  censure. 
I  used  these  and  other  arguments  with  my  colleagues 
to-day,  and  although  the  position  taken  may  produce 
strained  relations  with  the  Kerensky  Government,  I  pre- 
fer such  situation  to  the  credit  of  aiding  the  Provisional 
Government  to  condemn  as  a  traitor,  and  perhaps  to 
convict,  a  brave  soldier  and  patriot  whose  mistake  was 


KERENSKY  AND  KORNILOFF  1G1 

making  demands  before  public  sentiment  was  sufficiently 
strong  in  their  favor  to  force  their  acceptance. 

"I  have  not  yet  lost  all  hope  for  Russia,  as  the  Pro- 
visional Government  can  still  save  the  situation  if  it 
takes  prompt  and  decisive  steps  to  restore  the  discipline 
of  the  army  and  navy.  I  remained  with  the  Minister 
of  Foreign  Affairs  to-day  after  my  colleagues  had  left 
and  had  with  him  a  very  plain  talk.  In  answer  to  his 
statement  that  Russia  or  any  sovereignty  would  object 
to  the  interference  of  any  outside  governments  in  their 
internal  affairs  I  stated  that  while  such  a  position  would 
be  tenable  under  ordinary  circumstances  the  situation 
in  Russia  at  this  time  is  peculiar.  Russia  is  one  of  a 
number  of  Allies  who  are  fighting  a  common  enemy  and 
Russia  is  asking  and  receiving  very  material  assistance. 
I  furthermore  stated  that  I  felt  the  responsibility  of 
keeping  my  Government  advised  concerning  the  condi- 
tions in  the  country  to  which  I  am  accredited  and  of  giv- 
ing my  best  judgment  as  to  the  proper  policy  to  pursue. 

"It  is  unnecessary,  however,  to  tire  you  any  longer 
with  this  narrative,  as  I  have  just  received  a  note  from 
the  British  Ambassador  saying  that  the  Minister  has 
complied  with  our  request  and  given  to  the  press  for 
publication  to-morrow  morning  the  exact  expression 
formulated  by  the  Allied  representatives  September 


In  a  letter  written  my  son  Perry  the  next  day,  I  said  : 
"By  a  telephone  talk  with  Terestchenko,  Minister  of 
Foreign  Affairs,  I  learn  that  the  report  received  an 
hour  ago  of  an  agreement  between  the  Government  and 
General  Korniloff  is  untrue.  The  Minister  claims  that 
a  division  ordered  by  General  Korniloff  to  attack  Petro- 
grad  has  abandoned  the  General  and  is  giving  allegiance 
to  the  Government.  My  Military  and  Naval  Attaches 
contend,  however,  that  Korniloff  will  undoubtedly  domi- 


162    RUSSIA  FROM  THE  AMERICAN  EMBASSY 

nate  the  situation.  The  Provisional  Government  has 
been  weak  in  that  it  has  failed  to  restore  discipline  in  the 
army  and  has  given  too  much  license  to  the  ultra-Social- 
istic sentiment  whose  champions  are  called  'Bolshe- 
viks.' " 

I  further  commented  upon  this  complicated  situation 
in  a  letter  written  at  the  time  to  American  Consul  Mosher 
at  Harbin,  China,  in  which  I  said : 

"The  air  is  full  of  rumors  and  general  fear  is  enter- 
tained of  a  Bolshevik  outbreak.  The  British  Embassy 
and  Consulate  are  said  to  have  given  notice  to  all  British 
subjects  to  leave  Russia.  It  is  also  reported  that  the 
Scandinavian  Legations  have  given  all  of  their  subjects 
advice  to  do  likewise.  Many  Americans  are  frightened 
and  that  condition  prevails  somewhat  in  the  Embassy 
and  in  the  Consulate  also.  I  do  not  partake  of  it  in  the 
slightest  degree,  as  I  feel  no  concern  about  my  personal 
safety,  nor  do  I  anticipate  that  the  Embassy  itself  will 
be  attacked.  In  compliance  with  the  repeated  appeals 
of  some  members  of  the  Embassy  Staff,  and  of  other 
members  of  the  Colony,  I  have,  however,  chartered  a 
small  steamboat  upon  which  Americans  who  so  desire 
can  take  refuge  in  the  event  disturbances  should  occur. 
I  shall  remain  in  Petrograd  as  long  as  the  Government 
does,  and  perhaps  longer,  as  there  is  some  doubt  ex- 
pressed as  to  the  survival  of  the  present  Government. 
The  failure  of  General  Korniloff's  attempted  overthrow 
of  the  Government  has  resulted  in  strengthening  Ker- 
ensky,  and  the  appointment  of  Alexieff  as  Commander- 
in-Chief  inspires  us  with  hope,  however  faint  it  may  be, 
that  the  Provisional  Government  will  make  some  effort 
to  put  the  army  again  in  fighting  condition.  At  this 
writing  General  Korniloff  is  said  to  be  demanding  terms 
for  the  surrender  of  himself  and  his  Chief  of  Staff,  Lu- 
komsky.  The  whole  situation  may  be  changed  to-morrow 


KERENSKY  AND  KORNILOPP  163 

or  before  night.  I  was  informed  by  the  Foreign  Office 
yesterday  noon  that  General  Korniloff  had  phoned  at 
3 :30  a.  m.  on  the  12th  to  know  to  whom  he  should  sur- 
render. Russia  is  certainly  going  through  a  severe  or- 
deal, and  if  she  should  go  out  of  the  war  the  whole  burden 
of  the  contest  will  fall  upon  the  United  States  and  would 
cost  untold  millions  of  treasure  and  probably  millions 
of  American  lives. 

"The  movement  of  General  Korniloff  resulted  in  fail- 
ure because  it  was  ill  advised,  inopportune  and  was 
against  the  only  recognized  constituted  authority  in 
Russia.  General  Korniloff 's  reasoning  that  the  Govern- 
ment was  under  Bolshevik  influence  was  denied  by  its 
president,  Kerensky,  who  immediately  ordered  Korni- 
loff to  relinquish  command  of  the  army  and  directed 
Alexieff,  his  successor,  to  arrest  him.  The  present  status 
is  that  Korniloff  is  under  arrest  awaiting  trial.  Alexieff 
has  resigned  and  a  new  Minister  of  War,  Verkhovsky,  has 
been  installed,  whose  policy  is  broad  and  liberal,  and 
whose  expressions  have  convinced  the  Soviet  of  his  devo- 
tion to  the  cause  of  the  Revolution  and  have  resulted  in 
the  lessening  of  the  hold  of  the  Soviet  over  that  large 
portion  of  the  army  which  was  a  menace  not  only  to  the 
Government  but  to  the  preservation  of  order.  After  the 
failure  of  Korniloff  this  is  the  only  policy  that  contains 
any  hope  for  the  salvation  of  Russia  and  her  continuance 
in  the  war.  It  may  be  that  the  Korniloff  fiasco  was  a 
blessing  in  disguise.  Verkhovsky  is  a  young  man,  34 
years  of  age,  who  was  a  Lieutenant-Colonel  in  command 
of  the  Moscow  District  when  Korniloff  defied  the  Gov- 
ernment and  threatened  the  arrest  of  all  the  Ministers. 
Korniloff  sent  for  Verkhovsky  and  gave  him  orders  to 
that  effect,  but  he  defied  Korniloff  and  said  that  he  would 
be  loyal  to  the  Provisional  Government.  Kerensky,  who  is 
President  of  the  Council  of  Ministers  and  Commander- 


164    RUSSIA  FROM  THE  AMERICAN  EMBASSY 

in-Chief  of  the  Army,  has  issued  orders  putting  into 
effect  the  policies  of  Verkhovsky. ' ' 

In  a  letter  to  Judge  Priest  already  quoted,  I  said  of 
this  period: 

"It  is  my  intention  to  remain  in  the  Embassy  and  if 
the  Russian  Government  cannot  protect  me  and  the  resi- 
dence of  the  representative  of  the  Government  which  is 
extending  such  moral  and  material  aid  to  Russia,  then  I 
shall  defend  myself  and  the  property  of  my  country  from 
the  mob.  Don't  understand  me  as  meaning  that  I  shall 
go  on  the  street  and  defy  a  bloodthirsty  pillaging  crowd, 
but  I  shall  remain  in  the  Embassy,  and  if  the  doors  are 
broken  in  in  face  of  my  remonstrance  I  shall  not  attempt 
to  escape." 

The  National  Democratic  Conference  was  called  to 
meet  in  Petrograd  on  December  25th.  It  was  not  recog- 
nized by  the  Government,  but  Foreign  Minister  Teres- 
tchenko  told  me  that  the  Government  had  no  fear  of  this 
Congress  which  was  called  by  the  Soviet  for  the  purpose 
of  forming  a  Government  to  administer  the  affairs  of 
Russia  pending  the  meeting  of  the  Constituent  Assembly. 

In  a  letter  of  September  24th  to  my  friend,  Walter 
Williams,  of  Columbia,  Missouri,  I  said  of  the  then  pre- 
vailing conditions : 

"The  greatest  menace  to  the  present  situation  is  the 
strength  of  the  Bolshevik  sentiment  which,  intoxicated 
with  its  success  (attributable  in  no  small  degree  to  the 
failure  of  the  Korniloff  movement),  may  attempt  to  over- 
throw the  present  Provisional  Government  and  admin- 
ister affairs  through  its  own  representatives.  If  such 
condition  should  eventuate,  failure  will  undoubtedly  en- 
sue in  a  short  time,  but  meanwhile  there  may  be  blood- 
shed, of  which  there  has  been  remarkably  little  since  the 
beginning  of  the  revolution,  when  taking  into  considera- 
tion all  of  the  circumstances.  Another  menace  of  which 


KEEENSKY  AND  KORNILOFF  1G5 

I  have  evidence  while  dictating  this  letter  is  the  scarcity 
of  food  in  Petrograd;  just  across  the  street  is  a  bread 
line  of  several  hundred  people,  who  stand  for  hours  and 
are  sometimes  told  thereafter  that  the  supply  is  ex- 
hausted. In  walking  yesterday  afternoon  we  overheard 
a  woman  whom  we  passed,  and  who  was  talking  with  con- 
siderable emphasis,  say, '  I  have  asked  for  bread  so  often 
and  have  been  refused  it  that  now  I  am  going  to  demand 
it.'  These  manifestations  indicate  bread  riots.  There  is 
no  scarcity  of  food  in  Russia  but  very  imperfect,  inade- 
quate and  insufficient  transportation  facilities." 

As  I  said  also  at  the  time  in  a  dispatch  to  the 
Secretary : 

' '  Food  is  very  difficult  to  procure  here  now  and  is  com- 
manding exorbitant  figures;  in  front  of  the  Embassy  I 
counted  to-day  about  200  people  in  a  bread  line,  many 
of  whom  after  waiting  four  to  six  hours  were  told  the 
supply  was  exhausted.  This  is  one  of  many  such  in 
every  section  of  the  city." 

About  this  time  hand  bills,  of  which  the  accompanynig 
is  a  copy,  were  widely  distributed  throughout  the  city. 
They  read: 

"PROTEST  MEETING" 

"(Free)  America  wants  to  execute  a  Russian  emi- 
grant, Revolutionist,  Alexander  Berkman.  All  the  Sol- 
diers and  Workers  of  Petrograd  must  attend  a  Mass 
Meeting  which  will  be  held  in  Circus  Moderne  on  Sun- 
day, September  17th  (30th),  at  7  p.  m.,  to  find  out  how 
this  (free)  country  deals  with  its  revolutionists." 

"Admittance  free." 

I  sent  a  representative  to  this  meeting  who  made  this 
report  on  what  took  place :  A  resolution  was  passed  to 
the  following  effect : 


166    RUSSIA  FROM  THE  AMERICAN  EMBASSY 

"  'The  Soldiers  and  Workers  of  Petrograd,  assembled 
on  the  17th  of  September,  at  the  Circus  Moderne,  having 
received  reports  of  the  state  of  things  in  the  United 
States,  energetically  protest  against  methods  of  the  so- 
called  "free"  republic  of  North  America  in  its  repres- 
sive measures  against  true  friends  of  the  liberation 
movement,  and  fighters  for  the  peace  of  all  nations. 

"  'The  Soldiers  and  Workers  of  Petrograd  send  their 
fraternal  greetings  to  the  revolutionists  Goldman  and 
Berkman  and  all  those  who  in  "free"  America  fight  for 
the  social  revolution,  and  they  demand  in  the  name  of 
free  speech  and  free  press,  which  are  supposed  now  to 
be  the  foundation  of  free  society,  the  immediate  release 
of  our  revolutionist  friends,  and  the  abolition  of  all  pro- 
vocative measures  of  the  United  States  Government 
against  internationalist  measures  which  remind  one  of 
the  best  days  of  Russian  Tsardom.  This  meeting  ad- 
dresses itself  to  the  Council  of  Workmen  and  Soldiers 
as  well  as  to  the  Central  Committee  of  the  Councils,  re- 
questing it  to  send  effective  protest  to  the  American 
authorities  against  persecution  of  men  and  women  whose 
only  crime  is  doing  in  their  country,  against  autocracy, 
what  Russian  workers  have  done  here  against  autoc- 
racy. .  .  ." 

"There  were  about  six  thousand  present  at  the  meet- 
ing, counting  200  for  each  of  the  sixteen  sections  of  the 
amphitheater  and  3,000  for  the  arena.  In  addition  to  this 
there  were  a  great  many  people  coming  and  going,  so 
that  it  would  probably  not  be  wrong  to  say  that  8,000  saw 
all  or  part  of  the  meeting. 

"Shotoff,  an  anarchist  and  former  agitator  in  Amer- 
ica, was  the  chief  speaker. 

"I  have  reason  to  believe  that  John  Reed  brought 
over  the  story  of  the  proposed  execution  of  Berkman 
(as  far-fetched  a  tale  as  has  ever  been  made  the  subject 
of  an  appeal  to  the  mob).  Also  that  he  obtained  exclu- 
sion of  the  Associated  Press  from  the  democratic  con- 
gress on  the  ground  of  their  'capitalistic'  character.  I 
have  also  learned  that  he  has  been  expelled  from  Eng- 
land and  France  and  from  Russia  under  the  old  regime. 


KERENSKY  AND  KORNILOFF  167 

"The  Kronstadt  sailors,  11,000  in  number,  passed  a 
resolution  similar  to  the  one  above. 

"A  petition  to  request  immediate  action  on  the  case 
of  Berkman  will  be  presented  to  the  Soviet  and  the 
American  Ambassador." 


The  John  Reed  referred  to  had  come  to  the  Embassy 
about  a  month  before  this  time  with  a  letter  of  introduc- 
tion from  a  prominent  federal  official  of  New  York: 

"New  York,  August  17,  1917. 
"Dear  Mr.  Ambassador: 

"I  want  to  present  to  you  my  old  friends,  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Jack  Reed,  both  of  whom  are  of  the  American  news- 
paper world  and  are  visiting  Russia  with  a  view  to 
studying  conditions. 

"Any  courtesy  at  any  time  which  you  and  the  gentle- 
men of  the  Embassy  may  extend  to  them  will  be  deeply 
appreciated  by, 

"Yours  faithfully, 


On  October  1st,  I  sent  the  following  cable  to  the  Secre- 
tary of  State  in  reference  to  Reed: 


"Sept.  18/Oct.  1,  1917. 
"Secstate, 

"Washington, 

"Reliably  informed  that  John  Reed,  holder  of  Ameri- 
can Passport  No. ,  cordially  welcomed  by  Bol- 
sheviks whom  he  apparently  advised  of  his  coming.  Lost 
pocketbook  soon  after  arrival  which  found  delivered 
Consulate  containing  letter  from  Hillquit  introducing 
Reed  to  Huymans,  Secretary  of  the  Stockholm  Confer- 
ence. 

"Think  Bolsheviks'  information  concerning  Berkman 
obtained  through  Reed  and  William  Shotoff.  Under- 
stand Reed  secured  passport  upon  affidavit  was  not  going 


108    RUSSIA   FROM   THE   AMERICAN   EMBASSY 

Stockholm  Conference.  Presented  personal  letter  to  me 
from  -  -  (a  prominent  federal  official),  presenting 

'my  old  friends,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Jack  Reed'  and  bespeak- 
ing courtesies.  Endeavoring  to  ascertain  inspiration  of 
Protest  Meeting.  Shotoff  been  in  America  much  past 
twenty  years.  Returned  Russia  recently  is  now  Secre- 
tary of  some  Soviet  Committee.  Please  give  record  of 
both." 


The  lost  pocketbook  referred  to  contained  the  follow- 
ing letter  of  endorsement: 

"Stockholm,  Sept.  9,  1917. 
"Hellano  Scandinavian  Socialist  Committee, 

"I  beg  to  recommend  to  you  very  warmly  the  citizen 
John  Reed,  member  of  the  Socialist  Party  of  the  United 
States,  editor  of  the  socialist  publication,  New  York  Call. 
"He  is  recommended  to  me  especially  by  the  citizen 
Mr.  Hillquit,  delegate  of  the  United  States  to  the  Inter- 
national Socialist  Bureau. 

"Huymans, 
"Secretary  of  the  Stockholm  Conference." 

The  personal  note  also  contained  in  the  pocketbook 
was  addressed  to  "Dear  Sally"  and  the  whole  enclosed 

in  an  envelope  addressed  to  Mrs.  ,  

Croton-on-Hudson,  New  York,  and  read  in  part: 

"There  may  be  a  possibility  for  me  to  make  money 

here,  so  tell not  to  send  me  any  more  money 

until  I  cable,  but  then  to  do  it  quick  or  whatever  else  I 
ask  him  to  do  with  it.  I  do  not  think  my  benefactors 
are  going  to  lose  much  on  this  trip  of  mine." 

After  these  disclosures  I  naturally  regarded  Mr.  Reed 
as  a  suspicious  character  and  had  him  watched  and  his 
record  and  acts  investigated.  To  an  agent  of  mine  he 
expressed  these  views  and  made  these  statements: 


KERENSKY  AND  KORNILOFF  1G9 

"Says — 'He  is  Socialist.  Believes  that  the  Workmen 
can  manage  the  factories  themselves.  Some  works  arc 
being  run  by  them  with  a  great  deal  of  success.  The 
newspapers  only  mention  the  failures.  Barring  the 
Cadets — the  Bolsheviks  are  the  only  Party  with  a  pro- 
gram. The  other  factions  of  the  Socialistic  Party  are 
at  sea  in  regards  to  a  policy  and  program.  Though  the 
Russian  workman  has  not  reached  the  same  high  stand- 
ard of  efficiency  of  the  American — he  is  farther  advanced 
in  politics  and  in  political  thought. '  Says — '  That  if  the 
workmen  were  paid  in  proportion  to  their  labor  they 
would  get  all  the  profits.  Instead  of  shutting  down,  the 
works  should  be  compelled  to  furnish  the  material,  or 
to  turn  the  factories  over  to  the  workmen.'  Was  at  the 
all-night  session  of  the  Democratic  meeting  held  in  the 
Alexander  Theater.  Seemed  to  know  all  about  what 
took  place  there.  Says  that  if  the  Bolsheviks  get  control 
of  the  Government  the  very  first  thing  they  would  do 
would  be  to  kick  out  all  the  Embassies  and  all  those  con- 
nected with  them.  Vesey's  paper  (The  Russian  Daily 
News,  printed  in  English)  is  liable  to  be  closed  any  day 
as  he  is  playing  up  to  the  American  Embassy  and  in 
favor  of  the  Cadets.  The  Embassies  are  interfering  too 
much  with  the  internal  politics  of  the  country.  Men- 
tioned the  Marx  theory.  Apparently  knows  a  great  deal 
about  all  the  Socialistic  factions  here. ' ' 

Thus  at  this  time  were  the  American  Bolsheviks  com- 
ing to  the  aid  of  Russian  Bolsheviks  in  their  efforts  to 
overthrow  the  democratic  government  of  Russia  just  as 
now  the  Russian  Bolsheviks  are  coming  to  the  aid  of 
American  Bolsheviks,  in  their  efforts  to  overthrow  our 
democratic  government. 

In  a  letter  of  October  13th  to  my  son  Perry,  I  said: 
"The  air  is  always  full  of  rumors  here  concerning 
plots  of  the  Bolsheviks,  but  the  outbreaks  that  are 
prophesied  seem  never  to  occur — it  is  only  the  unex- 
pected that  happens  here.  I  heard  a  few  days  ago  that 
the  Bolsheviks  had  made  a  list  of  people  whom  they 


170    RUSSIA  FROM  THE  AMERICAN  EMBASSY 

intended  to  kill,  and  that,  while  the  British  Ambassador 
heads  the  list,  I  am  not  many  removes  from  the  top.  I 
do  not  believe  this  and  consequently  I  am  not  regulating 
my  actions  or  movements  accordingly.'* 

And  in  a  later  letter  I  observed : 

"The  Bolsheviks  are  said  to  be  armed  and  organized 
for  a  demonstration,  which  means  '  shooting  up  the  town ' 
in  our  western  vernacular.  I  may  be  in  danger  but  do 
not  feel  so  any  more  than  I  did  when  that  mob  on  the 
Nevsky,  with  a  black  flag,  was  advancing  to  attack  the 
Embassy." 


CHAPTER  XIII 

THE  BOLSHEVIKS  OVERTHROW  THE  GOVERNMENT 

On  October  llth,  0.  S.,  1917,  Kerensky  issued  this  his 
last  appeal  to  the  Russian  people  to  support  his  Govern- 
ment and  'its  policies  until  the  Constituent  Assembly 
could  be  convoked : 

"Great  confusion  has  once  more  been  brought  into  the 
life  of  our  country.  In  spite  of  the  swift  suppression 
of  the  revolt  of  General  KornilofT,  the  shocks  caused  by 
it  are  threatening  the  very  existence  of  the  Russian 
Republic. 

''Waves  of  anarchy  are  sweeping  over  the  land,  the 
pressure  of  the  foreign  enemy  is  increasing,  counter- 
revolutionary elements  are  raising  their  heads,  hoping 
that  the  prolonged  governmental  crisis,  coupled  with  the 
weariness  which  has  seized  the  entire  nation,  will  enable 
them  to  murder  the  freedom  of  the  Russian  people. 

"  Great,  boundless  is  the  responsibility  of  the  Provi- 
sional Government,  on  whom  devolves  the  historic  task 
of  bringing  Russia  to  a  state  where  the  convocation  of 
the  Constituent  Assembly  will  be  possible.  The  burden 
of  this  responsibility  is  alleviated  only  by  the  deep  con- 
viction that,  united  by  the  common  desire  to  save  the 
fatherland  and  to  protect  the  achievements  of  the  Revo- 
lution, the  representatives  of  all  classes  of  the  Russian 
people  will  understand  the  necessity  for  cooperation  with 
the  Provisional  Government  in  establishing  a  firm  gov- 
ernmental power,  capable  of  realizing  the  urgent  de- 
mands of  the  country,  and  bringing  it,  without  further 
upheavals,  to  the  Constituent  Assembly,  the  convocation 
of  which,  it  is  the  deep  conviction  of  the  Provisional 
Government,  cannot  be  postponed  for  one  day. 

"Leaving  to  the  Constituent  Assembly,  the  sovereign 

171 


master  of  Russia,  the  final  solution  of  all  great  questions 
on  which  the  welfare  of  the  Russian  people  depends,  the 
Provisional  Government,  the  personnel  of  which  has  now 
been  completed,  holds  that  only  by  carrying  out  energet- 
ically a  series  of  resolute  measures  in  all  spheres  of  the 
life  of  the  State,  will  it  be  able  to  fulfill  its  duty  and 
satisfy  the  urgent  needs  of  the  nation. 

"In  the  firm  conviction  that  only  a  general  peace  will 
enable  our  great  fatherland  to  develop  all  its  creative 
forces,  the  Provisional  Government  will  continue  inces- 
santly to  develop  its  active  foreign  policy  in  the  spirit 
of  the  democratic  principles  proclaimed  by  the  Russian 
Revolution.  The  Revolution  has  made  these  principles 
a  national  possession,  its  aim  being  to  attain  a  general 
peace — a  peace  excluding  violence  on  either  side. 

4 'Acting  in  complete  accord  with  the  Allies,  the  Pro- 
visional Government  will,  in  the  next  few  days,  take 
part  in  the  conference  of  the  Allied  Powers.  At  this 
conference  the  Provisional  Government  will  be  repre- 
sented, among  other  delegates,  by  one  who  particularly 
enjoys  the  confidence  of  the  democratic  organizations. 

* '  At  this  conference  our  representatives,  together  with 
the  solution  of  common  questions  and  military  problems, 
will  strive  towards  an  agreement  with  the  Allies  on  the 
ground  of  the  principles  proclaimed  by  the  Russian 
Revolution. 

* '  Striving  for  peace,  the  Provisional  Government  will, 
however,  use  all  its  forces  for  the  protection  of  the  com- 
mon, Allied  cause,  for  the  defense  of  the  country,  for 
resolute  resistance  to  any  efforts  to  wrest  national  terri- 
tory from  us  and  impose  the  will  of  any  foreign  power 
on  Russia,  and  for  the  repulsion  of  the  enemies'  troops 
from  the  borders  of  the  fatherland. 

"For  the  purpose  of  securing  for  the  revolutionary 
authorities  close  contact  with  the  organized  public  forces 
and  thus  imparting  to  the  Government  the  necessary 
stability  and  power,  the  Provisional  Government  will  in 
the  next  few  days  work  out  and  publish  a  decree  estab- 
lishing a  Provisional  Council  of  the  Republic,  which  is 
to  function  until  the  .Constituent  Assembly  convenes. 
This  Council,  in  which  all  classes  of  the  population  will 


BOLSHEVIKS  OVERTHROW  GOVERNMENT   173 

be  represented  and  in  which  the  delegates  elected  to  the 
Democratic  Conference  will  also  participate,  will  be 
given  the  right  of  addressing  questions  to  the  Govern- 
ment and  of  securing  replies  to  them  in  a  definite  period 
of  time,  of  working  out  legislative  acts  and  discussing 
all  those  questions  which  will  be  presented  for  considera- 
tion by  the  Provisional  Government,  as  well  as  those 
which  will  arise  on  its  own  initiative.  Resting  on  the 
cooperation  of  such  a  council,  the  Government,  preserv- 
ing in  accordance  with  its  oath,  the  unity  of  the  govern- 
mental power  created  by  the  Revolution,  will  regard  it 
its  duty  to  consider  the  great  public  significance  of  such 
a  council  in  all  its  acts  up  to  the  time  when  the  Constit- 
uent Assembly  will  give  full  and  complete  representation 
to  all  classes  of  the  population  of  Russia. 

"Standing  firmly  on  this  program,  which  expresses 
the  hopes  of  the  people,  and  calling  upon  all  for  imme- 
diate and  active  participation  in  the  preparations  for 
the  convocation  of  the  Constituent  Assembly  in  the  short- 
est period  of  time,  the  Provisional  Government  presumes 
that  all  citizens  of  Russia  will  now  rally  closely  to  its 
support  for  concerted  work,  in  the  name  of  the  basic  and 
paramount  problems  of  our  time,  the  defense  of  the 
fatherland  from  the  foreign  enemy,  the  restoration  of 
law  and  order  and  the  leading  of  the  country  to  the  sov- 
ereign Constituent  Assembly. 

"A.  Kerensky, 
"Prime  Minister.'* 

As  if  in  brazen  response  to  this  appeal  appeared  the 
announcement  by  the  Bolsheviks,  Volodarsky  and  Mani- 
nef,  of  the  formation  of  a  Military  Revolutionary  Com- 
mittee organized  to  seize  the  power  of  the  Government. 

On  the  19th  of  November,  1917,  following  the  down- 
fall of  the  Provisional  Government  and  upon  the  usurpa- 
tion of  control  by  the  Bolsheviks,  I  issued  this  address : 

1 1  To  the  People  of  Russia : 

"I  address  you  because  there  is  no  official  in  the  For- 
eign Office  with  whom  I  can  communicate,  and  all  of  the 


174    RUSSIA  FROM  THE  AMERICAN  EMBASSY 

members  of  the  government  or  ministry  with  which  I 
had  official  relations  are  inaccessible,  being  in  flight  or 
in  prison,  according  to  my  best  information. 

"When,  on  March  5th-18th,  1917,  six  days  after  your 
memorable  revolution  began,  and  three  days  after  the 
Provisional  Government  was  named,  and  before  I  had  re- 
ceived official  notice  of  its  appointment,  I  cabled  to  my 
Government  earnestly  requesting  authority  to  aid  the 
revolution  by  recognizing  the  new  government  at  a  crit- 
ical juncture  of  its  existence.  I  had  no  thought  that 
within  the  short  period  of  seven  months  you  would  be 
engaged  in  civil  strife  as  you  are  to-day,  and  so  divided 
that  the  liberty  for  which  you  had  striven  and  suffered 
for  so  many  generations  would  be  so  endangered  as  it  is 
at  present.  Within  four  days  I  received  instructions 
from  Washington  to  recognize  the  Provisional  Govern- 
ment, and  did  so  promptly  and  in  the  most  impressive 
manner  I  could  command,  on  March  9th-22nd. 

" Fifteen  days  thereafter  (March  20th- April  4th)  Presi- 
dent Wilson  sent  a  message  to  the  American  Congress, 
recommending  that  a  state  of  war  be  declared  to  exist 
between  the  United  States  and  the  imperial  government 
of  Germany.  That  immortal  message  electrified  the  peo- 
ple of  my  country  and  thrilled  the  lovers  of  liberty 
throughout  the  world — especially  in  Russia — by  its  deep- 
ly-moving allusion  to  the  heart  of  the  Russian  people. 

1  *  The  Congress  promptly  responded  to  the  appeal,  and 
very  soon  thereafter  I  cabled  my  Government  urging  the 
extension  of  a  credit  of  $500,000,000  to  Russia,  to  enable 
her  the  more  vigorously  to  prosecute  the  war  against 
Germany  whose  success  would  mean  the  loss  of  the  dear- 
ly bought  freedom  of  the  Russian  people.  Up  to  the 
beginning  of  the  present  revolution,  credits  had  been 
extended  to  Russia  to  the  extent  of  $256,000,000  by  the 
United  States  Government,  and  a  cable  sent  by  myself 
two  days  before  the  beginning  of  the  present  revolution 
recommended  an  additional  advance  of  $100,000,000. 

"Almost  immediately,  President  Wilson  appointed  a 
diplomatic  mission  to  Russia  under  the  chairmanship  of 
Honorable  Elihu  Root,  to  express  the  good  will  of  my 
country,  and  to  extend  encouragement  to  the  Russian 


BOLSHEVIKS  OVERTHROW  GOVERNMENT  175 

people  in  the  bold  stroke  they  had  made  for  liberty.  The 
factories  of  the  United  States,  subordinating  domestic 
needs  to  the  necessities  of  Russia,  at  once  devoted  their 
energies  and  resources  to  the  manufacture  of  munitions, 
railroad  equipment  and  other  requirements  of  your 
country.  Soon  thereafter  American  Red  Cross  missions 
were  dispatched  to  Russia  and  Roumania  to  minister  to 
the  sufferings  of  a  people  enervated  by  years  of  struggle 
and,  for  this  voluntary  offering,  no  compensation  or  re- 
ward was  asked  and  none  is  expected.  A  railway  com- 
mission of  distinguished  experts  also  came  from  America 
to  Russia  to  render  what  assistance  they  could  toward 
improving  your  transportation  facilities,  to  the  end  that 
your  magnificent  food  productions  might  be  so  distrib- 
uted as  to  relieve  the  famine  which  seemed  to  prevail  in 
some  sections.  This  commission  has  already  achieved 
great  results,  but  its  work  has  hardly  begun. 

" America's  motives  in  entering  the  war  and  the  ob- 
jects thereof  have  been  set  forth  clearly  and  impressively 
by  President  Wilson  in  his  message  to  Congress,  in  his 
note  to  the  Provisional  Government  on  the  coming  of 
the  diplomatic  mission,  in  his  flag-day  speech,  in  his 
reply  to  the  Pope,  and  in  many  other  eloquent  utter- 
ances, all  of  which  show  that  my  country  has  entered 
this  war  desiring  and  expecting  no  annexations  and  no 
indemnities,  but  has  unselfishly  assumed  a  stupendous 
task  in  the  interests  of  humanity,  to  enable  all  peoples 
to  dispose  of  themselves,  to  make  the  world  safe  for 
Democracy.  .  .  . 

"If  reports  received  daily  are  to  be  credited,  even 
partially,  the  Russian  people  are  engaged  in  fratricidal 
strife  and  are  paying  no  attention  to  the  approach  of  a 
powerful  enemy  who  is  already  on  Russian  soil.  There 
is  no  power  whose  authority  is  recognized  throughout 
Russia ;  your  industries  are  neglected  and  many  of  your 
people  are  crying  for  food.  This  need  can  be  supplied 
if  you  will  permit  the  American  railway  commission  to 
continue  its  helpful  work,  as  there  is  sufficient  food  in 
Russia  to  feed  all  her  people  if  properly  distributed. 
An  able  and  experienced  railroad  operator  is  clearing 
from  America  to-day  with  three  hundred  and  forty  engi- 


176    RUSSIA  FROM  THE  AMERICAN  EMBASSY 

neers,  skilled  mechanics,  and  operatives,  for  Vladivostok, 
in  accordance  with  an  agreement  between  the  Depart- 
ment of  Ways  and  Comnmnications  and  the  American 
Railway  Commission.  I  have  cabled  my  Government 
urging  that  your  internal  conditions  be  not  permitted  to 
prevent  the  coming  of  this  assistance.  The  men  are 
coming  to  Russia  for  a  temporary  stay  only  and  they 
will  not  take  the  places  of  any  railroad  men  now  em- 
ployed. Food  conditions  or  the  scarcity  of  bread  is  the 
greatest  menace  confronting  you  at  this  time,  and 
America  is  making  every  effort  to  improve  the  situation. 

"I  have  not  lost  faith  in  the  ability  of  the  Russian 
people  to  solve  their  own  problems.  On  the  contrary, 
I  believe  that  your  patriotism,  your  pride,  your  sense 
of  right,  and  your  love  of  justice  will  remove  the  diffi- 
culties that  beset  your  pathway.  But  the  time  you  have 
therefor  is  extremely  limited.  A  powerful  enemy  is  at 
your  gates.  A  desperate  foe  is  sowing  the  seeds  of  dis- 
sension in  your  midst.  A  hostile,  unscrupulous,  imperial 
government  is  maintaining  a  well-organized  espionage 
throughout  the  land.  Your  liberties  are  threatened. 
Your  beloved  land  is  in  danger.  Your  unapproachable 
resources  may  pass  into  unfriendly  hands.  Eternal  vigi- 
lance is  required  to  preserve  for  your  descendants  the 
rich  heritage  you  now  hold.  Neglect  of  present  opportu- 
nity may  entail  upon  your  children  a  commercial  slavery 
worse  than  serfdom.  I  appeal  to  you  to  be  watchful  of 
your  true  interests,  and  I  make  this  appeal  on  behalf 
of  my  Government  and  my  people,  with  whom  you  have 
ever  borne  friendly  relations,  and  who  cherish  a  sincere, 
deep  interest  in  your  welfare.  I  make  this  appeal  also 
for  myself.  I  have  lived  in  your  midst  for  more  than 
a  year  and  a  half.  I  have  studied  your  character,  and 
admire  your  many  excellent  traits.  I  think  if  you  are 
now  mindful  of  your  true  interests  your  future  will  be 
more  glorious  than  your  most  sanguine  expectations. 

•'Your  Constituent  Assembly,  upon  which  your  minds 
and  hearts  are  centered,  is  less  than  nine  days  distant. 
That  august  body  is  empowered  to  formulate  a  govern- 
ment for  Russia.  What  preparations  are  you  making 
for  its  assembling?  Can  it  be  representative  of  the  soul 


BOLSHEVIKS  OVERTHROW  GOVERNMENT  177 

of  Russia  if  her  sons  are  daily  shedding  the  blood  of 
each  other? 

''It  may  be  true  that  you  are  tired' of  war  and  desire 
peace,  but  what  kind  of  a  peace  can  you  expect  from 
a  Government  not  only  imperialistic  in  form  but  the 
greatest  enemy  of  Democracy  I  You  are  dissipating  your 
power  and  weakening  your  spirit,  and  wasting  your 
energies,  by  family  dissensions. 

"My  country  has  no  secret  treaties  in  connection  with 
this  war.  We  are  bound  to  our  Allies  in  a  league  of 
honor.  Our  forefathers,  the  founders  of  the  American 
Republic,  warned  us  against  entangling  alliances  with 
foreign  powers,  but  they  also  taught  us  that  a  govern- 
ment which  fails  to  fulfil  its  obligations  to  live  up  to 
its  agreements,  cannot  command  the  respect  of  civiliza- 
tion and  neither  merit  nor  receive  the  loyal  support  of 
its  own  citizens,  and  consequently  cannot  survive. 

"I  appreciate  your  friendly  feeling  for  my  country, 
and  your  considerate  treatment  of  myself  during  my 
official  stay  among  you.  If  by  this  candid  expression  oi' 
thought  and  feeling  I  forfeit  your  friendship,  I  shall 
regret  it  sincerely.  My  hope  is  that  what  I  have  said 
may  make  you  stop  and  think.  If  s,o,  it  will  inure  to  your 
profit." 

Instead  of  rallying  to  the  support  of  the  Provisional 
Government  the  troops  in  Petrograd  acknowledged  al- 
legiance to  the  Bolshevik  Revolutionary  Committee. 
This  meant  the  overthrow  of  the  Provisional  Govern- 
ment just  as  surely  as  had  the  defection  of  these  troops 
eight  months  before  meant  the  downfall  of  the  Czar. 

"It  is  reported  that  a  Bolshevik  uprising  or  'demon- 
stration' is  beginning  on  the  other  side  of  the  river.  The 
immediate  cause  is  the  suppression  of  the  four  Bolshevik 
newspapers,  one  of  them  Maxim  Gorky's.  These  papers 
have  been  advocating  a  separate  peace  and  supporting 
extreme  socialistic  doctrines."  This  I  said  in  concluding 
a  letter  to  my  eldest  son  on  November  6th,  1917. 

On  the  same  day  I  had  a  long  talk  with  Terestchenko 


178    RUSSIA  FROM  THE  AMERICAN  EMBASSY 

at  the  Foreign  Office.  After  a  brief  discussion  of  routine 
matters  I  went  to  a  window  from  which  we  could  see  a 
thousand  or  more  soldiers  drilling  in  the  open  space 
between  the  Foreign  Office  and  the  Winter  Palace.  We 
were  both  under  great  tension,  but  Terestchenko  was 
more  nervous  than  I  was.  We  were  alone  and  neither 
had  spoken  for  some  minutes  when  he  said,  "I  expect 
a  Bolshevik  outbreak  to-night." 

"If  you  can  suppress  it,  I  hope  it  will  occur,"  I  com- 
mented. 

"I  think  we  can  suppress  it,"  the  Minister  said  with 
apparent  calmness ;  but  when  he  abruptly  added,  * '  I  hope 
it  will  take  place  whether  we  can  or  not — I  am  tired  of 
this  uncertainty  and  suspense,"  I  realized  to  the  full, 
the  terrible  strain  under  which  this  young  man  was 
living. 

He  was  the  richest  man  in  the  Government  and  had 
been  reared  in  luxury,  but  unlike  most  men  so  reared  he 
had  never  wasted  his  time.  Beside  his  own  language 
he  knew  English,  French  and  German.  He  had  been  a 
student  both  of  political  economy  and  of  Russian  history. 
Having  lost  faith  in  his  chief,  Kerensky  (a  fact  which 
I  did  not  know  at  the  time),  he  undoubtedly  felt  that 
the  chief  responsibility  for  saving  his  country  from  the 
terrible  fate  that  threatened  her  rested  upon  his  shoul- 
ders chiefly. 

" Whose  soldiers  are  those!"  I  asked. 

"They  are  ours,"  the  young  Minister  replied  as  he 
turned  wearily  to  his  desk,  and  I  took  my  departure 
feeling  hopeful  that  he  was  justified  in  his  belief  that 
the  Government  would  be  able  to  defeat  any  effort  the 
Bolsheviks  might  make. 

As  I  stepped  into  my  victoria,  drawn  by  two  gray 
horses  with  small  American  flags  attached  to  the  rosettes 
of  their  bridles,  I  directed  my  coachman  to  drive  by  the 


soldiers  who  had  stacked  arms  and  were  talking  in  little 
groups.  I  sainted  as  I  passed  and  the  men  under  their 
non-commissioned  officers  promptly  came  to  attention 
and  returned  my  salute  with  all  proper  military  preci- 
sion. I  wanted  to  impress  these  men  with  the  fact  that 
America  and  her  Ambassador  were  back  of  the  threat- 
ened Provisional  Government. 

The  next  morning  I  was  called  up  from  the  Foreign 
Office  and  told  that  because  of  pressing  matters  the 
Minister  could  not  receive  me  at  one  o'clock  that  day. 
That  was  the  hour  of  my  daily  call  upon  the  Foreign 
Minister. 

Shortly  after  receipt  of  this  message  Secretary  White- 
house  rushed  in  in  great  excitement  and  told  me  that 
his  automobile,  on  which  he  carried  an  American  flag, 
had  been  followed  to  his  residence  by  a  Russian  officer, 
who  said  that  Kerensky  wanted  it  to  go  to  the  front. 
"Whitehouse  and  his  brother-in-law,  Baron  Ramsai,  who 
was  with  him,  accompanied  the  officer  to  General  Head- 
quarters in  order  to  confirm  his  authority  for  making 
this  amazing  request.  There  they  found  Kerensky — the 
Headquarters  are  across  the  square  from  the  Winter 
Palace,  where  he  lived  surrounded  by  his  staff.  Every- 
one seemed  to  be  in  a  high  tension  of  excitement  and  all 
was  confusion.  Kerensky  confirmed  the  officer's  state- 
ment that  he  wanted  Whitehouse 's  car  to  go  to  the 
front.  Whitehouse  asserted,  "This  car  is  my  personal 
property  and  you  have  (pointing  across  the  square  to 
the  Winter  Palace)  thirty  or  more  automobiles  waiting 
in  front  of  the  palace. ' '  Kerensky  replied,  *  *  Those  were 
put  out  of  commission  during  the  night  and  the  Bol- 
sheviks now  command  all  the  troops  in  Petrograd  except 
some  who  claim  to  be  neutral  and  refuse  to  obey  my 
orders." 

Whitehouse  and  Ramsai,  after  a  hurried  conference, 


180    RUSSIA  FROM  THE  AMERICAN  EMBASSY 

came  to  the  very  proper  conclusion  that  as  the  car  had 
virtually  been  commandeered  they  could  offer  no  further 
objection.  After  they  had  left  the  Headquarters  White- 
house  remembered  the  American  flag,  and  returning,  told 
the  officer  who  had  originally  asked  for  the  car  that  he 
must  remove  the  flag  before  using  the  car.  He  objected 
to  doing  this  and,  after  some  argument,  Whitehouse  had 
to  be  content  with  registering  a  protest  against  Keren- 
sky's  use  of  the  flag,  and  left  to  report  the  affair  to  me. 

On  hearing  the  story  I  approved  Whitehouse 's  action, 
but  gave  orders  that  no  mention  should  be  made  of  the 
occurrence  to  anyone.  A  rumor  reached  me  later  that 
Kerensky  had  left  the  city  in  an  American  Embassy  auto- 
mobile and  under  the  American  flag,  but  the  rumor  had 
a  very  limited  circulation  and  was,  I  think,  for  the  most 
part  disbelieved.  At  any  rate  no  point  has  been  made 
of  the  manner  of  Kerensky 's  escape  other  than  the  fact 
that  he  deserted  his  colleagues. 

He  told  Whitehouse  to  inform  me  that  he  was  going 
to  the  army  and  would  return  within  five  days  with  a 
sufficient  force  to  liquidate  the  situation.  He  did  attempt 
to  return  at  the  head  of  3,000  to  5,000  Cossacks,  but  his 
troops  were  repulsed  about  fifteen  miles  from  the  city 
by  a  force  of  about  20,000  men  of  whom  4,000  to  6,000 
were  armed  workmen.  It  is  not  improbable  that  their 
arms  had  been  furnished  by  the  order  of  Kerensky  him- 
self when  he  armed  the  workmen  of  Petrograd  in  order 
that  they  might  aid  in  repelling  Korniloff's  army.  On 
Friday,  November  16th,  there  came  to  the  Embassy 
after  dark  a  young  man  whom,  although  dressed  in 
civilian's  clothes,  I  recognized  as  Captain  Kovanko, 
Kerensky 's  naval  aide.  He  said  he  had  left  Kerensky 
the  morning  of  the  previous  day  after  his  defeat  and 
had  returned  with  papers  from  him  for  friends  in  Petro- 
grad. He  said  Kerensky  had  told  him  to  see  me  and 


BOLSHEVIKS  OVERTHROW  GOVERNMENT  181 

advise  me  of  the  situation.  He  said  that  General  Kras- 
noff,  commanding  the  Cossacks,  had  called  Kerensky's 
attention  to  the  German  tactics  of  the  Bolshevik  army, 
and  that  both  General  Krasnoff  and  Kerensky  believed 
that  the  Bolshevik  army  was  commanded  by  German 
officers.  It  may  be  that  he  invented  the  story  of  Keren- 
sky's  sending  him  to  me,  as  he  again  appeared  after 
dark  the  next  day  and  told  me  he  was  anxious  to  go  to 
America,  Naturally  I  could  do  nothing  for  him  in  that 
direction.  The  following  day  he  was  arrested  and  im- 
prisoned in  St.  Peter  and  Paul  Fortress. 

On  November  7th,  the  day  of  Kerensky's  flight,  his 
colleagues  of  the  Provisional  Government  held  a  meeting 
at  the  Winter  Palace.  Late  in  the  afternoon  the  Palace 
was  surrounded  by  Bolshevik  troops  and  Red  Guards 
who  demanded  its  surrender,  which  was  refused.  There- 
upon the  Bolsheviks  opened  fire  assisted  by  the  man-of- 
war,  Aurora,  which  lay  in  the  river  and  by  the  guns 
of  St.  Peter  and  Paul  Fortress  across  the  river — the 
Winter  Palace  fronts  on  the  River  Neva  and  the  Fortress 
is  almost  directly  opposite.  The  Palace  was  defended  by 
cadets,  commonly  known  as  " Junkers"  (youths  corre- 
sponding to  our  West  Pointers)  of  whom  there  were 
several  hundred,  and  by  a  battalion  of  women  soldiers. 
At  2 :10  a.m.,  November  8th,  the  Palace  was  surrendered. 
The  Ministers  were  captured  and  compelled  to  walk, 
under  guard  and  subjected  to  many  indignities,  to  the 
Fortress  two  miles  distant,  where  they  were  imprisoned. 
The  four  Socialist  Ministers  were  subsequently  released, 
but  kept  under  surveillance.  The  other  Ministers  were 
said  to  be  well  treated,  but  their  friends  and  relatives 
were  in  constant  fear  that  they  would  be  killed,  which 
seemed  to  me  not  improbable.  According  to  one  report 
the  Ministers  were  stood  up  in  line  to  be  shot  when  the 
commander  of  the  prison  intervened. 


Madame  Terestchenko,  the  mother  of  the  young 
Foreign  Minister,  called  upon  me  at  the  Embassy  a  few 
days  after  her  son's  arrest.  She  was  obviously  in  deep 
distress  of  mind  and  told  me  that  her  son's  guards,  as 
indeed  those  of  all  the  former  Ministers,  were  being 
changed  from  soldier  cyclists  to  Kronstadt  sailors  by 
order  of  young  Rothschild,  the  President  of  the  so-called 
"Kronstadt  Republic."  These  Kronstadt  sailors  had 
threatened  to  kill  all  the  former  Ministers.  She  added 
that  her  son  could  be  released  on  the  payment  of  100,000 
roubles  to  the  Soviet  Government — an  amount  which  she 
would  gladly  pay,  but  that  he  refused  to  accept  his 
liberty  and  leave  his  colleagues  in  prison.  I  explained 
to  the  distressed  mother  as  best  I  could  how  gladly  I 
would  help  her  if  I  could,  but  that  unfortunately  any 
interest  I  might  show  in  her  son  would  simply  lead  the 
Bolsheviks  to  deal  more  harshly  with  him. 

In  a  letter  to  Secretary  Lansing  written  November 
20th,  1917,  I  said  of  this  period : 

"On  the  night  of  November  7th,  the  Petrograd  Coun- 
cil of  Workmen  and  Soldiers,  which  is  mainly  Bolsheviks, 
and  the  National  Soviet,  of  which  a  congress  has  been 
called  in  Petrograd,  named  a  new  ministry  calling  it  a 
'  Commissaire '  and  appointed  as  commissaires  of  the 
peope  Lenin  as  President  and  Trotzky  as  Minister  of 
Foreign  Affairs,  and  ten  or  fifteen  others  whose  names 
are  immaterial.  The  Mencheviks  in  the  Soviet  Congress 
thereupon  withdrew,  and  also  a  few  of  the  Bolsheviks. 
The  second  day  thereafter  the  right  wing  of  the  Social- 
ist Party,  including  the  above  Soviet-seceders,  the  Social 
Revolutionists,  and  a  majority  of  the  Internationals  and 
most  of  the  Peasant  Deputies,  held  a  conference  and 
attempted  to  agree  upon  a  compromise  ministry.  Dan, 
speaking  for  the  Social  Revolutionists,  stated  they  would 
not  participate  in  any  government  with  Bolsheviks  and 


BOLSHEVIKS  OVERTHROW  GOVERNMENT  183 

that  the  Peasants  and  Railway  Union,  who  have  become  a 
power  in  the  situation,  were  of  the  same  mind.  Later 
this  decision  appears  to  have  been  altered  to  the  effect 
that  a  Bolshevik  representation  would  be  permitted  pro- 
vided neither  Lenin  nor  Trotzky  should  be  selected.  Of 
course,  Lenin  and  Trotzky  objected,  and  that  is  the  pres- 
ent situation.  An  adjourned  meeting  for  the  selection  of  a 
compromise  ministry  was  planned  but  for  some  reason 
was  not  held.  In  the  meantime,  Lenin  and  Trotzky  are 
administering  whatever  government  there  is,  outside  the 
City  Duma,  from  the  Smolny  Institute,  an  educational 
building  which  has  been  headquarters  of  the  Petrograd 
Council  and  the  Bolsheviks  since  they  were  put  out  of 
the  National  Duma  in  order  that  it  might  be  prepared 
for  the  Constituent  Assembly.  The  military,  or  that 
portion  of  them  which  recognizes  the  Lenin-Trotzky 
government,  is  commanded  by  a  revolutionary  military 
committee. 

"A  Colonel  Mouravief,  whose  reputation  is  not  good, 
was  appointed  commander  of  the  Petrograd  District,  and 
assumed  charge  of  the  Petrograd  military  headquarters. 
He  issued  an  order,  No.  1,  in  which  he  acknowledged  in 
a  complimentary  way  the  supremacy  of  the  Revolution- 
ary Military  Committee  and  the  Red  Guard.  It  appears 
that  the  British,  French  and  American  Military  Attaches 
called  on  Mouravief  and  asked  him  to  protect  the  foreign 
Embassies  and  Legations.  I  was  not  aware  of  this  until 
after  it  was  done,  and  when  informed  of  it  expressed  my 
displeasure  and  gave  orders  that  nothing  should  be 
done  by  anyone  connected  with  the  Embassy  or  subject 
to  my  control  that  could  be  construed  as  a  recognition 
of  the  Lenin-Trotzky  Government. 

"A  few  days  before  the  revolution  began — perhaps  a 
week,  the  Provisional  Government  had  sent  to  the  Em- 
bassy seven  Junkers  or  cadets  as  guards.  I  had  not  so 


184    RUSSIA  FROM  THE  AMERICAN  EMBASSY 

requested,  but  gave  them  quarters  and  provided  some  of 
their  food,  until  they  were  ordered  to  return  to  their 
school,  which  order  they  received  November  12th  or 
13th,  a  day  or  two  before  the  Junkers  had  made  open 
resistance  to  the  Bolshevik  soldiers.  I  consented  to  their 
leaving,  and  have  since  heard  that  they  arrived  safely 
at  Nikolai  School.  The  Red  Guard  has  been  killing  tlu 
Junkers  on  the  streets  and  on  sight  without  warning,  a 
species  of  unsurpassed  brutality.  On  or  about  November 
9th  a  telephone  message  was  received  at  the  Embassy 
asking  whether  I  desired  a  guard  of  Polish  soldiers.  I 
replied  in  the  negative,  but  the  Polish  soldiers,  ten  in 
number  including  a  lieutenant,  arrived  next  day  and  were 
also  given  quarters  and  food.  General  Judson,  the  Mili- 
tary Attache,  thought  it  unwise  to  keep  the  Polish  sol- 
diers in  the  Embassy,  as  they  were  known  to  be  unfa- 
vorable to  the  Bolshevik  government,  and  recommended 
that  they  be  replaced  by  Bolshevik  guard.  I  assumed 
the  position  that,  while  I  was  willing  for  the  Polish  sol- 
diers to  leave,  I  would  not  accept  a  guard  from  the 
Revolutionary  Military  Committee,  nor  from  the  Bol- 
shevik Headquarters. 

"I  have  just  had  a  call  from  Skobeleff,  whom  you 
remember  as  a  delegate  appointed  to  accompany  Teres- 
tchenko  to  Paris.  He  was  accompanied  by  Tchaikovsky. 
They  both  stated  voluntarily  that  the  present  govern- 
ment is  no  government  at  all  and  that  if  it  is  not  soon 
succeeded  by  a  representative  ministry  anarchy  will  pre- 
vail throughout  Russia,  and  this  country  will  be  dis- 
rupted and  will  disappear  from  the  face  of  the  earth  as 
one  of  the  Great  Powers.  They  said  they  represented 
the  committee  of  national  defense  of  which  Avksentieff 
is  chairman,  but  he  is  not  in  Petrograd  at  this  time  be- 
cause he  and  his  friends  thought  it  unsafe  for  him  to  re- 
main here.  They  believed  the  situation  could  be  saved  if 


BOLSHEVIKS  OVERTHROW  GOVERNMENT  185 

the  Allies  would  agree  to  call  a  conference  for  the  purpose 
of  defining  theii  aims  in  continuing  the  war.  They 
asserted  the  soldiers  and  everybody  in  Russia  were  ask- 
ing what  the  Russian  army  is  fighting  for  and  that  the 
army  could  only  be  held  together  by  an  announcement 
of  war  aims  by  the  Allies.  If  such  announcement  should 
be  made  and  not  accepted  by  Germany,  then  the  army 
could  be  reorganized  and  solidified  and  would  at  least 
hold  that  part  of  Russia  which  is  not  now  in  the  posses- 
sion of  the  Germans.  I  am  cabling  you  this  proposition 
to-day.  Skobeleff  and  Tchaikovsky  said  they  had  just 
left  Sir  George  Buchanan,  and  that  he  had  promised  to 
cable  their  suggestion  to  his  government  with  a  recom- 
mendation that  it  be  followed.  It  was  their  opinion  that 
such  a  conference  should  not  be  held  in  Petrograd  nor 
in  Russia.  I  told  them  there  was  no  objection  on  our 
part  to  such  a  conference  as  our  aims  in  this  war  had 
been  stated  before  we  entered  it  and  had  been  repeated 
by  President  Wilson  several  times  since. 

"The  situation  here  is  extremely  critical.  The  army 
is  without  bread,  and  many  of  the  soldiers  are  likely  to 
come  to  Petrograd  in  quest  of  food.  When  they  arrive, 
it  is  possible  they  may  indulge  in  excesses. 

'  *  I  have  a  strong  suspicion  that  Lenin  and  Trotzky  are 
working  in  the  interests  of  Germany,  but  whether  that 
suspicion  is  correct  or  not,  their  success  will  unques- 
tionably result  in  Germany's  gain.  As  I  cabled  you 
several  days  ago,  it  is  believed  by  many  that  there  are 
German  officers  here  in  touch  with  the  commanders  of 
the  Bolshevik  regiments.  I  have  also  cabled  you  con- 
cerning the  German  propaganda  at  the  front,  in  Moscow 
and  elsewhere.  You  do  not  need  to  be  impressed  with 
what  it  means  to  us  for  Germany  to  get  possession  of 
Russia. 

''Your  cable  of  November  16th,  3  p.  m.,  to  Morris  was 


186    RUSSIA  FROM  THE  AMERICAN  EMBASSY 

received  by  me  to-day.  You  can  readily  see  that  cables 
between  the  Department  and  the  Embassy  have  been 
wilfully  intercepted,  especially  when  I  call  your  atten- 
tion to  the  fact  that  unimportant  cables  have  come 
through  unmolested.  I  appreciate  your  concern  about 
the  safety  of  the  members  of  the  Embassy  and  also  about 
American  citizens,  but  as  I  have  cabled  you  several 
times,  no  American  has  been  injured  either  in  Petrograd 
or  in  Moscow." 

The  day  after  the  overthrow  of  the  Provisional  Gov- 
ernment, I  wrote  in  a  letter  to  Consul-General  Summers 
at  Moscow : 

"The  streets  are  quiet  to-day  but  some  of  them  are 
barricaded.  The  principal  point  of  interest  is  the  tele- 
phone headquarters  on  the  Moskaya,  which  was  taken 
by  the  Bolsheviks  night  before  last.  Some  cadets  at- 
tempted to  recapture  it  yesterday  afternoon  but  were 
repulsed. 

"The  Foreign  Office  in  reply  to  my  inquiry,  phones 
this  morning  that  it  does  not  know  where  the  Minister 
of  Foreign  Affairs  is,  and  that  no  one  representing  the 
new  power  has  appeared  at  the  Ministry,  consequently 
all  of  the  officials  there  are  folding  their  hands.  An 
official  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture  called  at  the 
Embassy  this  morning  and  told  me  that  the  Ministry 
was  closed  as  it  was  impossible  to  do  any  business  with 
the  Ministers  in  prison.  I  have  just  received  word,  how- 
ever, from  the  Ministry  of  Ways  and  Communications, 
that  a  telegram  I  sent  there  to  be  forwarded  to  John  F. 
Stevens  would  be  promptly  transmitted,  consequently  I 
conclude  that  the  Department  is  transacting  business. 

"It  is  reported  that  the  Petrograd  Council  of  Work- 
men and  Soldiers  has  named  a  cabinet  with  Lenin  as 
Premier,  Trotzky  as  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs,  and 
Madame  or  Mile.  Kollontai  as  Minister  of  Education. 


BOLSHEVIKS  OVERTHROW  GOVERNMENT  187 

Disgusting! — but  I  hope  such  effort  will  be  made,  as 
the  more  ridiculous  the  situation  the  sooner  the  remedy. 
It  is  reported  also  and  generally  believed  that  Ver- 
khovsky,  late  Minister  of  War,  is  at  the  Smolny  Institute 
and  directing  the  military  affairs  of  the  Bolsheviks.  I 
am  inclined  to  believe  the  report." 

In  a  later  letter,  I  said : 

"There  has  been  little  fighting  here  on  the  streets. 
Last  Sunday  the  Junkers  (the  cadets)  captured  the 
telephone  office  and  held  it  about  six  hours,  when  they 
were  compelled  to  surrender.  They  thought  Kerensky's 
forces  would  enter  Petrograd  Sunday  and  they  are  said 
to  have  been  promised  that  the  three  Cossack  regiments 
here  would  attack  the  Bolsheviks,  provided  they  were 
given  an  armored  motor.  The  Junkers  had  heard  on 
Saturday  that  their  arms  would  be  taken  from  them  on 
Sunday,  consequently  on  Saturday  night  they  entered 
the  garage  where  the  motors  are  stored,  and  after  bind- 
ing and  chloroforming  the  guards  captured  eight 
armored  motors.  About  ten  o'clock  the  next  morning 
they  captured  the  telephone  office,  and  were  engaged  in 
more  or  less  street  fighting  during  the  day.  The  Bol- 
shevik soldiers  and  Red  Guards  took  the  Vladimir  School 
across  the  river,  and,  after  almost  demolishing  it  with 
artillery,  captured  the  inmates,  who  had  offered  resis- 
tance, and  are  said  to  have  practised  horrible  cruelties 
on  those  who  surrendered.  During  Sunday  and  Monday 
whenever  a  Junker  was  seen  on  the  street  he  was  shot 
by  a  Red  Guard  or  a  Bolshevik  soldier  without  being 
questioned. 

"On  the  night  of  November  8th,  after  the  fall  of  the 
Winter  Palace,  the  Petrograd  Council  of  Workmen  and 
Soldiers,  and  the  National  Soviet,  or  what  is  left  of  it, 
after  several  factions  had  withdrawn,  passed  a  decree 
dividing  among  the  people  all  the  land  in  Russia  except 


188    RUSSIA  FROM  THE  AMERICAN  EMBASSY 

that  belonging  to  the  Cossacks.  They  then  adopted  peace 
resolutions  and  recommended  a  three  months*  armistice, 
for  their  consideration,  and  ordered  the  resolutions  sent 
to  the  army  and  by  wireless  to  all  belligerent  and  neutral 
countries. 

1  'The  Embassy  has  never  received  any  official  notice 
that  there  has  been  any  change  in  the  government,  but 
the  departments  are  all  closed  or  operating  only  par- 
tially and  without  chiefs.  The  Lenin- Trotzky  Ministry 
has  not  sent  any  written  or  oral  communication  to  the 
Embassy.  In  fact,  I  have  not  heard  of  its  functioning 
at  all  except  to  demand  the  secret  treaties  from  the 
Foreign  Office,  which  were  not  forth-coming,  and  to  take 
possession  of  the  State  Bank.  The  private  banks  have 
been  closed  notwithstanding  Lenin's  order  to  them  to 
keep  open  for  at  least  two  hours  daily.  The  National 
City  Bank  tells  me  it  would  open  for  the  accommodation 
of  its  customers  but  it  has  no  money  outside  the  State 
Bank  and  can  get  none  from  there.  Quiet  prevails  here 
notwithstanding  there  is  no  government. 

"When  a  government  is  formed  and  I  am  officially 
advised,  I  shall  confer  with  the  heads  of  the  Allied  Mis- 
sions and  the  Department  upon  a  course  of  action.  Of 
course,  we  would  not,  or  I  would  not,  recognize  any 
Ministry  of  which  Lenin  is  Premier  or  Trotzky  Minister 
of  Foreign  Affairs." 

In  a  letter  to  my  son  Perry  written  November  26th,  I 
thus  commented  upon  later  phases  of  the  Revolution: 

' '  There  has  been  no  firing  on  the  streets  of  Petrograd 
for  the  last  three  days  except  occasionally.  Killing  and 
robberies  are  much  more  frequent  than  anyone  knows, 
however,  because  they  are  not  given  to  the  press,  and 
for  the  further  reason  that  all  evidence  of  such  crimes 
are  rapidly  removed.  I  never  knew  of  a  place  where 
human  life  is  as  cheap  as  it  is  now  in  Russia.  You  can, 


BOLSHEVIKS  OVERTHROW  GOVERNMENT   189 

however,  become  accustomed  to  murders  and  robberies. 
About  ten  days  ago  when  I  was  returning  to  the  Embassy 
in  a  Ford  automobile,  driven  by  Phil,  my  attention  was 
attracted  by  a  crowd  congregated  on  the  corner  of  this 
block,  which  is  about  1,200  feet  long,  with  the  Embassy 
within  200  feet  of  one  end  of  it.  Phil  was  inclined  to  stop, 
but  as  I  had  an  engagement  at  the  Embassy  I  told  him 
to  drive  on,  but  his  curiosity  was  so  strong  that  after 
leaving  me  at  the  Embassy  he  drove  back  to  the  corner 
and  about  half  an  hour  later  came  into  my  office  and  told 
me  the  crowd  was  in  front  of  a  branch  post-office,  the 
woman  in  charge  of  which,  a  19-year-old  girl,  had  been 
killed  and  the  office  robbed  of  82,000  roubles.  It  seemed 
incredible,  but  I  have  become  so  accustomed  to  such  out- 
rages that  I  only  remarked  that  I  was  sorry  and  that 
the  scoundrel  who  did  it  should  be  shot,  and  continued 
to  dictate  to  the  stenographer. 

"The  Department  has  given  no  instructions  concern- 
ing recognition  of  the  Lenin-Trotzky  government,  nor 
have  I  made  any  recommendation  looking  toward  such 
recognition.  The  Constituent  Assembly  will  be  convened 
day  after  to-morrow,  but  no  one  can  foretell  its  political 
complexion  or  its  action.  I  am  still  having  the  Embassy 
guarded  nightly  by  two  of  its  employees,  who  sit  in  the 
vestibule  from  2  a.m.  until  7,  as  I  never  go  to  bed  until 
2  o'clock,  or  haven't  since  the  Revolution  began." 

In  a  letter  to  my  wife  written  on  Monday,  the  12th,  I 
commented : 

"We  have  had  no  government  here  since  Thursday. 
Most  of  the  government  offices  are  closed  as  the  em- 
ployees have  refused  to  work  under  Bolshevik  Ministers. 
Some  departments  have  been  visited  by  the  new  Ministers 
but  some  have  not.  I  understand  all  of  those  called  upon 
to  do  so  have  declined  to  recognize  the  Bolshevik  govern- 


190    RUSSIA  FROM  THE  AMERICAN  EMBASSY 

ment  and  those  not  called  upon  have  ceased  to  operate 
for  want  of  authority. ' r 

On  November  24th,  Consul-General  Summers  wrote  me 
a  letter  in  which  he  thus  described  the  Revolution  as  it 
affected  Moscow: 

1 1  We  were  for  a  week  in  the  center  of  the  fighting  zone 
and  for  four  days  I  could  not  get  out  of  the  house  on 
account  of  the  firing  on  the  streets  both  of  artillery  and 
musketry.  All  the  houses  at  the  corner  near  our  house 
were  shelled  and  burned.  I  was  very  anxious  about  the 
Consulate  where  Poole,  Macgowan  and  Bullard  were 
sleeping,  having  been  cut  off  from  their  homes.  The 
Consulate  is  only  about  400  yards  from  my  home — in  the 
direction  of  the  National  Hotel,  and  the  heaviest  fighting 
in  Moscow  was  between  us.  Fire  broke  out  the  second 
night  as  the  result  of  the  heavy  artillery  fire  directed 
against  the  buildings.  Numerous  persons  were  killed  or 
burned  to  death.  The  Dom  Gagarin,  the  property  of  my 
wife's  aunt,  was  the  stronghold  of  the  Bolsheviks.  It 
controlled  the  entrance  to  the  Kremlin  by  the  Nikitzkaya 
and  was  hotly  contested  until  the  last  moment  when  shells 
set  it  and  the  surrounding  buildings  afire.  Our  house 
was  struck  several  times  by  bullets  and  shrapnel,  but  we 
were  not  injured  or  even  worried. 

"The  Consulate  was  shot  up  a  little  but  on  the  whole 
was  respected  as  much  as  could  have  been  desired.  A 
large  building  in  the  yard,  however,  is  torn  to  pieces  by 
shell  fire.  All  Americans  are  safe,  although  several  at 
the  Hotel  Metropole,  which  is  a  partial  wreck,  have  lost 
their  baggage.  The  number  of  dead  is  not  yet  known, 
though  it  is  very  large.  Last  night  thirty-five  dead  bodies 
were  removed  from  the  Dom  Gagarin,  nineteen  were 
taken  from  a  burning  house  in  front  and  all  over  the  city 
funerals  are  taking  place.  The  morgues  are  full  of 
Junkers  and  Bolsheviks.  The  dead  of  the  latter  are 


BOLSHEVIKS  OVERTHROW  GOVERNMENT  191 

being  buried  to-day.  Disorders  are  expected  in  the 
afternoon,  though  I  think  that  the  terror  of  the  past 
week  has  cowed  resistance. 

"The  most  horrible  atrocities  are  known  to  have  been 
perpetrated  by  the  Bolsheviks.  Large  numbers  of  young 
students  from  ten  to  sixteen  years  of  age  have  been 
murdered  because  they  were  cadets,  the  word  Cadet  being 
confused  with  the  political  party.  Junkers  were  thrown 
into  holes  made  in  the  ground  and  buried  without  funer- 
als. Many  of  them  were  subjected  to  unheard-of  cruel- 
ties. The  French  Consul-General  from  Warsaw  was 
brutally  treated  and  the  Roumanian  officers  at  the  Met- 
ropole  were  little  less  than  executed.  Concrete  cases  of 
looting,  murder  and  other  rapacious  acts  are  not  want- 
ing. Immediately  after  the  firing  was  stopped  and  the 
Consular  Corps  could  be  gotten  together,  a  meeting  was 
held  at  my  home.  All  were  present  except  the  English 
Consul-General,  who  informed  me  that  he  did  not  pro- 
pose to  adopt  any  definite  line  of  action  until  he  received 
instructions  from  the  Embassy.  It  seems  to  me  that  on 
occasions  of  this  sort,  when  the  life  and  property  of 
foreigners  is  at  stake,  the  first  duty  of  a  Consular  officer 
is  to  see  that  every  protection  is  given  them,  regardless 
of  who  has  assumed  the  power.  I  have  carefully  studied 
this  question  at  other  times  when  the  question  of  recog- 
nition of  governments,  created  by  revolution,  was  con- 
cerned, and  find  that  representations  to  a  body  which  has 
forcibly  come  into  power  and  de  facto  occupies  the  gov- 
ernment, in  regard  merely  to  the  matter  of  protection  of 
citizens  and  their  properties,  is  not  only  in  order,  but  is 
obligatory  on  Consular  officers. 

' '  We  have  carefully  given  them  to  understand  that  we 
were  merely  treating  with  them  on  matters  of  the  protec- 
tion of  our  citizens.  After  long  and  rather  strong  argu- 
ments were  employed,  the  representatives  of  the  War 


192    RUSSIA  FROM  THE  AMERICAN  EMBASSY 

Revolutionary  Committee  called  at  the  Swedish  Consu- 
late on  myself  and  the  Swedish  Consul-General,  who  in 
the  meantime  had  been  selected  by  the  Consular  Corps 
to  represent  them,  and  we  succeeded  in  forcing  them  to 
place  their  seal  on  certain  certificates  of  citizenship  and 
residence  which  we  prepared  which  would  at  once  pro- 
tect each  foreigner,  and  insure  his  house  against  search 
except  in  the  presence  of  a  Consular  officer.  We  insisted 
on  a  strict  compliance  with  the  laws  of  the  nations  in 
the  treatment  of  all  foreigners  and  warned  them  of  the 
consequence  of  any  infringement  of  such  laws. 

"I  think  in  the  end  we  have  secured  to  all  foreigners 
here  a  speedy  and  effective  method  of  protection.  Every- 
one seems  to  be  contented,  though  there  was  a  great 
panic  the  first  days.  The  American  Red  Cross  was  mak- 
ing every  possible  effort  to  get  out  before  anyone  else, 
and  annoyed  the  Consulate-General  no  little  by  taking  up 
our  time  when  we  were  busy  trying  to  secure  to  our 
colony  all  due  protection.  I  confess  that  it  aggravated 
me  not  a  little  to  have  to  stop  this  work  to  get  special 
cars  for  them  to  get  away.  I  realized  that  if  all  of  them 
left  precipitately  as  they  wished  to  do  there  would  be  a 
panic  here,  and  I  told  them  that  if  they  did,  even  though 
it  cost  me  my  post,  I  would  telegraph  the  President  what 
they  were  endeavoring  to  do  and  its  effect  at  this  serious 
moment. 

"I  am  glad  to  say  they  have  all  gone  and  sincerely 
hope  they  will  not  return.  I  am  not  by  any  means  done 
with  this  matter,  as  I  have  many  things  in  connection 
with  the  entire  work  of  this  body  which  I  will  bring  to 
the  attention  of  the  government.  Some  of  them  are 
earnest  men  and  others  are  little  less  than  curiosity 
seekers  who  avail  themselves  of  the  official  nature  of  the 
body  to  make  nuisances  of  themselves  and  of  the  Red 
Cross,  quite  contrary  from  the  Y.M.C.A.  which  has 


BOLSHEVIKS  OVERTHROW  GOVERNMENT  193 

done  splendid  work,  as  I  have  cabled  the  Department. 

1 '  The  colony  is  all  quiet  and  quite  untouched.  We  are 
making  all  due  preparation  for  them  in  case  we  have  to 
leave.  As  far  as  myself  and  family  are  concerned  and 
all  the  staff  of  this  office,  we  shall  stay  here  until  we  are 
forced  to  leave.  Like  yourself  I  have  no  fear  of  these 
people  and  feel  strongly  that  we  should  fight  the  thing 
to  the  end. ' ' 

In  reply  to  the  question  that  is  often  asked  me,  "Why 
did  the  Kerensky  Government  fail?"  I  reply  there  are 
many  reasons,  among  which  these  might  be  mentioned : 
The  great  mass  of  soldiers  in  the  Russian  army  were 
ignorant  peasants  who  had  only  the  vaguest  idea  what 
they  were  fighting  for.  They  had  fought  long,  had  lost 
enormous  numbers,  had  been  betrayed  by  some  of  their 
leaders,  and  in  many  cases  their  families  were  destitute. 
Lenin  and  Trotzky  and  their  numerous  agents  came 
among  them  and  promised  them  peace  and  land.  They 
longed  for  peace!  To  gain  possession  of  the  land  upon 
which  they  worked  had  been  their  ambition  for  genera- 
tions. Under  these  conditions,  to  keep  these  peasant 
soldiers  fighting  and  at  the  same  time  build  up  a  demo- 
cratic government  in  a  land  that  had  known  only  des- 
potism for  hundreds  of  years  was  a  task  for  a  leader  with 
the  iron  nerve  of  Cromwell  and  the  far-seeing  wisdom 
of  Lincoln.  Not  such  a  man  was  Kerensky!  He  was 
first  and  foremost  an  orator.  He  was  also,  in  my  belief, 
a  patriotic  Russian  with  the  welfare  of  his  country  at 
heart.  But  he  was  weak,  and  twice  in  the  brief  tenure  of 
his  power  he  blundered  fatally;  first,  when  after  the 
attempted  Revolution  of  July,  he  failed  to  execute  as 
traitors,  Lenin  and  Trotzky.  Second,  when  during  the 
Korniloff  episode,  he  failed  to  seek  to  conciliate  General 
Korniloff  and  instead  turned  to  the  Council  of  Work- 
men's and  Soldiers'  Deputies  and  distributed  arms  and 


ammunition  among  the  workingmen  of  Petrograd.  By 
this  singularly  inept  stroke  he  alienated  his  own  army 
and  armed  his  enemies. 

In  a  private  letter  written  from  Vologda  on  June  23rd, 
1918, 1  told  of  this  incident  of  Kerensky's  departure  from 
Russia. 

"Kerensky  was  in  Moscow  four  weeks  ago  after 
reports  had  stated  he  had  settled  in  Norway,  and  I  think 
the  Government  was  aware  of  his  presence  there,  but 
don't  know  such  to  be  the  case.  The  Ministers  of  the 
Provisional  Government,  who  were  kept  in  the  St.  Peter 
and  Paul  Fortress  for  four  months,  have  all  been  re- 
leased. Shingarieff,  who  was  an  ex-minister,  was  killed 
in  a  hospital  to  which  he  had  been  transferred  when  the 
feeling  against  the  Provisional  Ministers  was  very  bitter. 
His  murderers  have  never  been  punished. 

4 '  I  was  informed  a  few  days  ago  that  Kerensky  might 
possibly  apply  for  admission  to  the  United  States,  where- 
upon I  cabled  the  Department  recommending  that  he  be 
granted  permission  to  enter.  I  received  a  few  days  ago 
authority  to  grant  him  admission.  Meantime  he  has 
gone  to  Murmansk,  by  the  Murman  railroad,  disguised 
by  a  full  growth  of  whiskers,  and  wearing  the  uniform  of 
a  Serbian  officer.  He  arrived  safely  at  Murmansk,  and 
while  dining  on  a  British  man-of-war  was  so  completely 
disguised  that  he  was  not  recognized  by  all  of  his  hosts, 
but  one  of  them  did  recognize  him.  During  the  dinner 
when  the  British  officers  were  talking  about  Russian 
affairs,  one  of  them  mentioned  Kerensky  in  a  very  un- 
complimentary manner,  and  said  if  Kerensky  had  had  the 
courage  and  wisdom  to  perform  his  duty,  and  had  shot 
Lenin  and  Trotzky  when  he  could  have  done  so,  after 
the  outbreak  of  July  17th  and  18th,  1917,  Russia  and 
the  Allies  would  have  been  spared  much  trouble  and 
expense  and  loss  of  life.  You  can  imagine  Kerensky's 


BOLSHEVIKS  OVERTHROW  GOVERNMENT  195 

feelings,  and  the  embarrassment  of  the  officer  who  had 
recognized  him." 

Kerensky  was  in  England  when  I  arrived  there  but  did 
not  call  upon  me.  He  was  occupied  in  writing  his  book. 
I  understand  that,  at  this  writing,  he  is  in  Paris  and 
attends  meetings  of  the  Russians  there  who  have  organ- 
ized an  anti-Bolshevik  association. 


CHAPTER  XIV 

THE  CONSTITUENT  ASSEMBLY  DISPERSED  BY  AEMED 
BOLSHEVIKS 

IMMEDIATELY  after  the  Czar's  abdication  on  March 
15th,  the  Provisional  Government  had  issued  its  address 
to  the  "citizens"  of  Russia.  It  declared  the  policy  to 
be  based  on  principles,  one  of  which  was  as  follows : 

"To  proceed  forthwith  to  the  preparation  and  con- 
vocation of  a  Constituent  Assembly  based  on  universal 
suffrage  which  will  establish  a  stable  governmental 
regime." 

The  members  of  the  Provisional  Government  took  oath 
of  office  immediately.  Entering  the  great  hall  of  the 
First  Department  of  the  Senate,  the  Ministers  with 
Prince  Lvoff  at  their  head  took  their  places  in  the  center 
of  the  hall  at  a  table,  and  each  repeated  this  oath,  follow- 
ing the  text  as  pronounced  by  the  President  of  the  Sen- 
ate, S.  B.  Brasski: 

' '  According  to  my  duty  as  a  member  of  the  Provisional 
Government,  established  by  the  will  of  the  people  on 
the  initiative  of  the  Imperial  Duma,  I  promise  and  swear 
before  God  Almighty  and  my  conscience  to  faithfully  and 
truly  serve  the  people  of  the  Russian  State,  sacredly  pro- 
tecting its  liberty  and  rights,  its  honor  and  dignity, 
inviolably  observing  in  all  my  actions  and  my  orders  the 
foundations  of  civil  liberty  and  civil  equality,  and  in  all 
measures  at  my  disposal  to  suppress  all  attempts,  di- 
rectly or  indirectly  aiming  at  the  reestablishment  of  the 
old  regime.  I  swear  to  apply  all  my  intelligence  and  all 
my  strength  to  entirely  fulfil  all  the  obligations  which 

196 


CONSTITUENT  ASSEMBLY  DISPERSED    197 

the  Provisional  Government  has  assumed  before  the 
whole  world.  I  swear  to  take  all  the  measures  for  the 
earliest  possible  convocation  of  a  Constituent  Assembly 
on  the  basis  of  universal,  direct,  equal  and  secret  suf- 
frage, to  transfer  to  it  the  plenitude  of  authority  which 
I  am  temporarily  exercising  together  with  the  other  mem- 
bers of  the  Government  and  to  submit  to  the  will  of  the 
people  expressed  through  this  assembly  concerning  the 
form  of  government  and  the  fundamental  laws  of  the 
Russian  State.  So  help  me  God  to  fulfil  my  oath." 

Of  like  interest,  bearing  upon  the  purposes  of  the  Con- 
stituent Assembly,  was  the  order  issued  by  Minister  of 
War  and  of  the  Navy,  Goutchkoff,  on  the  23rd  of  March. 

* '  Officers,  soldiers  and  sailors,  trust  one  another.  The 
Provisional  Government  will  not  permit  a  return  to  the 
past;  having  laid  the  foundation  of  the  new  order  of 
Government,  it  seeks  to  quietly  await  the  convocation  of 
the  Constituent  Assembly.  Do  not  aid  agitators  who 
sow  among  you  dissension  and  lying  reports.  The  will 
of  the  people  will  be  strictly  fulfilled,  but  the  peril  has 
not  passed." 

In  a  subsequent  address  to  "citizens,"  the  Provi- 
sional Government  declared: 

"While  taking  measures  indispensable  for  the  defense 
of  the  country  against  a  foreign  enemy,  the  Government 
will  consider  it  its  first  duty  to  grant  to  the  people  every 
facility  to  express  its  will  concerning  the  political  admin- 
istration, and  will  convoke  as  soon  as  possible  the  Con- 
stituent Assembly  on  the  basis  of  universal  suffrage,  at 
the  same  time  assuring  the  gallant  defenders  of  the 
country  their  share  in  the  Parliamentary  Election.  The 
Constituent  Assembly  will  issue  fundamental  laws,  guar- 
anteeing the  country  the  immutable  rights  of  equality 
and  liberty." 

The  Petrograd  Soviet,  describing  their  organization 
as  "Russian  Workingmen  and  Soldiers,  united  in  the 


198    RUSSIA  FROM  THE  AMERICAN  EMBASSY 

Petrograd  Soviet  of  Workers7  and  Soldiers'  Deputies," 
declined  to  join  the  cabinet  of  ministers  composing  the 
Provisional  Government,  in  March,  but  issued  a  procla- 
mation addressed  to  "Comrades,  Proletarians  and  all 
Laboring  People  of  all  Countries."  In  this  proclama- 
tion the  Soviet  did  not  oppose  the  proposed  Constituent 
Assembly,  but  endorsed  it.  The  Soviet  said : 

"The  people  of  Russia  will  express  their  will  in  the 
Constituent  Assembly,  which  will  be  called  as  soon  as  is 
possible  on  the  basis  of  universal,  equal,  direct  and 
secret  suffrage.  And  already  it  may  be  said  without  a 
doubt  that  a  Democratic  Republic  will  triumph  in 
Russia,'* 

Stecklov,  who  was  a  member  of  the  Executive  Com- 
mittee of  the  Petrograd  Soviet,  said  that  following  the 
establishment  of  the  Provisional  Government : 

"The  Soviet  decided  to  limit  itself  to  presenting  to 
the  Provisional  Government  definite  political  demands, 
and  without  influencing  directly  the  composition  of  the 
cabinet,  which  means  without  recommending  directly 
desirable  candidates  for  ministers,  to  confine  itself  to 
the  right  to  veto  those  candidates  who  are  definitely 
undesirable  and  definitely  opposed  and  dangerous  to  the 
reyplution. ' ' 

The  foregoing  statement  of  the  policy  of  the  Soviet 
appeared  in  their  organ,  Izvestia. 

Even  the  imperialistic  element  gave  apparent  support 
to  the  proposed  Constituent  Assembly.  The  Grand  Duke 
Michael  Alexandrovitch,  in  whose  favor  the  Czar  abdi- 
cated, announced  March  3rd-16th  his  refusal  to  accept 
without  adherence  to  the  plan  of  the  Constituent  As- 
sembly : 

"I  have  firmly  decided  to  accept  the  supreme  power 
only  in  case  it  is  the  will  of  our  great  nation,  which 


CONSTITUENT  ASSEMBLY  DISPERSED    199 

through  its  representatives  in  the  Constituent  Assembly 
will  decide  upon  a  form  of  Government  and  the  new  laws 
of  the  Russian  Empire.  Calling  God's  blessing,  I  request 
all  citizens  of  the  Russian  Empire  to  submit  themselves 
to  the  temporary  government  created  by  the  Imperial 
Duma  and  which  has  the  full  power  until  the  time  when 
the  Constituent  Assembly  which  shall  be  called  upon  the 
basis  of  general,  direct,  secret  and  equal  suffrage,  shall 
decide  upon  the  new  form  of  government. 

(Signed)  "MICHAEL." 

When  the  Provisional  Government  was  reorganized 
in  May,  two  months  after  the  first  organization,  six 
Socialists  were  given  places  in  the  Cabinet,  Prince  Lvoff 
remaining  as  Prime  Minister.  Again  the  Provisional 
Government  issued  an  address  promising  an  early  assem- 
blage of  the  Constituent  Assembly : 

"Leaving  it  to  the  Constituent  Assembly  to  decide  the 
question  of  transfer  of  land  to  the  toilers  and  making 
the  requisite  preparation  for  this,  the  Provisional  Gov- 
ernment will  take  all  necessary  measures  to  secure  the 
greatest  production  of  grain,  in  order  to  satisfy  the  needs 
of  the  country  and  to  regulate  utilization  of  land  in  the 
interests  of  the  country 's  economic  welfare  and  the  needs 
of  the  toiling  masses.  The  work  of  introducing  and 
strengthening  the  democratic  organizations  of  self-gov- 
ernment will  be  continued  with  all  possible  assistance 
and  speed.  The  Provisional  Government  will  in  like 
manner  make  every  effort  to  convoke  the  Constituent 
Assembly  in  Petrograd  as  soon  as  possible." 

These  expressions  of  the  purposes  of  the  Provisional 
Government  and  of  the  Soviet  in  the  spring  of  1917 
seemed  to  justify  a  general  feeling  of  hopefulness  that 
Russia  was  about  to  create  an  established  government  of 
the  people,  but  it  was  not  until  November  25th  that  the 
elections  to  the  Constituent  Assembly  were  held,  and  it 
was  not  until  January  18th  that  the  Constituent  Assem- 


200    RUSSIA  FROM  THE  AMERICAN  EMBASSY 

bly  convened.  In  that  long  delay  to  fulfil  the  early 
promises  and  expectations,  Russia's  opportunity  for  a 
stable  government  by  consent  of  the  governed  was  lost. 
From  time  to  time  the  Provisional  Government  sent 
out  urgent  appeals  to  stay  the  political  disintegration 
and  to  establish  harmony: 

" Citizens  of  Russia!  The  fate  of  our  country  is  in 
your  hands.  Without  you  the  Government  is  helpless. 
Together  with  you  it  will  with  courage  and  determina- 
tion lead  the  country  toward  its  great  future.  Remem- 
ber that  it  is  impossible  to  observe  freedom  without 
authority  and  that  in  the  new  order  the  authority  is  set 
up  and  guarded  by  you  yourselves,  by  your  inner  disci- 
pline and  your  free  obedience.  Gathering  around  the 
authority  you  have  erected,  and  putting  it  in  a  position 
to  use  in  point  of  fact  the  entirety  of  the  rights  you  have 
conceded  to  it,  you  will  give  it  force  and  power  to  over- 
come all  the  difficulties  and  dangers  which  stand  in  the 
country's  path,  and  to  bring  Russia's  freedom  entire 
and  untouched  to  that  great  day  when  the  nation  itself, 
in  the  person  of  the  Constituent  Assembly  it  will  have 
elected,  shall  stand  at  the  helm  of  government. '  * 

Following  the  attempted  revolution  led  by  Lenin  and 
Trotzky  in  July,  the  Provisional  Government  issued  an- 
other proclamation  on  the  subject  of  the  Constituent 
Assembly : 

"The  Provisional  Government  will  take  all  measures 
for  the  election  to  the  Constituent  Assembly  to  take 
place  at  the  appointed  time  (September  17th)  and  for  the 
preparatory  measures  to  be  concluded  in  time  to  guar- 
antee the  uprightness  and  freedom  of  the  votes." 

The  Bolsheviks  made  much  capital  out  of  the  delay 
in  calling  the  Constituent  Assembly.  They  insistently 
demanded  that  thd  elections  be  held.  They  charged  that 
the  Provisional  Government  was  purposely  postponing 
these  elections  in  order  that  it  might  remain  in  power. 


CONSTITUENT  ASSEMBLY  DISPERSED    201 

They  called  attention  to  the  luxurious  style  in  which 
Kerensky  was  living.  And  all  of  the  time  they  went  on 
with  plans  to  set  up  their  own  experiment  in  govern- 
*  ment.  Claiming  to  be  for  a  Constituent  Assembly,  they 
organized  "The  National  Congress  of  the  Councils  of 
the  Deputies  of  the  Workmen  and  Soldiers."  In  a  com- 
munication addressed  to  the  American  Embassy  the  Bol- 
sheviks announced  "a  new  government  of  the  Russian 
Republic  under  the  form  of  the  Councils  of  the  Com- 
missaries of  the  People."  The  communication  sent  to 
the  Embassy  stated  that  "the  President  of  this  govern- 
ment is  Mr.  Vladimir  Ilyich  Lenin,  and  the  management 
of  the  foreign  policy  was  entrusted  to  me  as  Commissary 
of  the  People  for  Foreign  Affairs. ' '  This  document  was 
signed  by  "Leon  Trotzky." 

Only  a  few  days  before  this  notice  was  sent  to  the 
Embassy  Trotzky  had  publicly  charged  Kerensky  with 
conspiring  to  prevent  the  convocation  of  the  Constituent 
Assembly.  The  date  for  the  election  had  been  postponed 
from  September  to  November,  which  gave  Trotzky  addi- 
tional ground  for  his  oft-repeated  claims  that  the  Provi- 
sional Government  did  not  at  heart  sincerely  favor  a  Con- 
stituent Assembly.  The  Bolshevik  government  was  now 
in  power,  but  it  elected  only  168  of  the  703  deputies  to 
the  Constituent  Assembly.  There  were  81  election  dis- 
tricts, but  in  only  54  of  them  were  elections  held.  The 
returns  showed  that  the  Social  Revolutionists  were  in 
the  large  majority.  They  had  polled  20,893,734  votes 
against  9,023,963  for  the  Bolshevik  candidates.  The 
total  vote  cast  was  36,257,960. 

As  soon  as  the  results  of  the  election  were  known  the 
Bolshevik  leaders  began  to  plan  for  absolute  control  of 
the  Assembly  by  their  small  minority.  Through  the 
Executive  Committee  of  the  Soviet,  they  put  forth  a 
declaration  that  where  a  majority  of  the  voters  were 


202    RUSSIA  FROM  THE  AMERICAN  EMBASSY 

dissatisfied  with  the  men  they  had  chosen  as  deputies, 
writs  for  new  elections  might  be  issued. 

The  Constituent  Assembly  had  been  called  to  meet  on 
the  12th  of  December.  Pending  the  plans  of  the  Bol- 
sheviks to  overcome  the  majority  the  meeting  of  the 
Assembly  was  postponed  until  January  18,  1918.  The 
scheme  of  new  elections  failing,  the  Bolshevik  leaders, 
through  their  newspaper  organ,  demanded  that  the  Con- 
stitutional Democrats  who  had  been  elected  to  the 
Assembly  be  arrested  and  brought  to  trial  before  the 
revolutionary  tribunals.  The  Council  of  Peoples'  Com- 
missaries by  a  decree  announced  that  this  would  be 
done.  Miliukoff  and  other  Constitutional  Democrats 
were  threatened  with  arrest.  Some  arrests  were  made. 
Deputies  were  held  in  confinement  until  after  the  Con- 
stituent Assembly  had  met  and  had  been  dispersed  by 
force.  Then  they  were  set  free.  The  arrests  were  purely 
arbitrary  acts  on  the  part  of  the  Bolsheviks  to  overawe 
the  majority  in  the  Constituent  Assembly. 

Lenin,  a  short  time  before  the  meeting  of  the  Assembly, 
printed  an  argument  that  the  election  had  not  given  clear 
indication  of  what  the  people  wanted.  Briefly  Lenin's 
position  was: 

"The  Soviet  Republic  represents  not  only  a  higher 
form  of  Democratic  institutions,  but  it  is  also  the  sole 
form  which  renders  possible  the  least  painful  transition 
to  Socialism." 

A  part  of  Lenin's  argument  was  that  the  division  of 
the  Social  Revolutionists  Party  into  Right  Wing  and 
Left  Wing  after  the  election  showed  that  the  people 
had  not  acted  with  definite  purpose. 

The  Social  Revolutionists  had  the  largest  body  of  dele- 
gates in  the  Constituent  Assembly.  The  Right  Wing 
was  composed  of  the  Conservative  Social  Revolutionists, 
and  the  Left  Wing  was  composed  of  the  Radical  Social 


CONSTITUENT  ASSEMBLY  DISPERSED    203 

Revolutionists.  In  various  ways  the  Bolshevik  leaders 
were  preparing  local  sentiment  in  Petrograd  so  far  as 
might  be  for  the  forcible  dispersal  of  the  Constituent 
Assembly. 

The  Assembly  met  at  last  on  January  5th-18th,  1918. 
The  day  before  the  assemblage  of  the  Constituent  As- 
sembly, January  4th-17th,  I  had  a  meeting  of  the  Diplo- 
matic Corps,  of  which  I  was  Dean,  in  the  American  Em- 
bassy. I  proposed  to  them  that  we  all  attend  in  a  body 
the  meeting  of  the  Constituent  Assembly,  but  they  ob- 
jected, saying  they  were  not  invited.  I  said  no  one  was 
invited.  I  insisted  on  going  but  as  no  one  would  accom- 
pany me,  I  did  not  go  alone.  The  Italian  Ambassador, 
Torretti,  afterwards  mentioned  it  to  me  in  Paris  about 
thirteen  months  later  and  regretted  that  he  had  not  gone. 
If  we  had  gone,  the  presence  of  the  Diplomatic  Corps, 
representing  Russia's  Allies,  might  have  had  a  pacifying 
effect  on  that  assemblage. 

There  were  stationed  in  and  about  the  hall  during  the 
session  sailors  and  Lettish  soldiers  armed  with  rifles  and 
grenades  and  machine  guns.  Very  soon  after  the  open- 
ing of  the  session,  the  Bolshevist  delegates  presented  an 
ultimatum  to  the  Constituent  Assembly.  Among  other 
things  they  demanded  the  adoption  of  this  decree: 

1  *  Supporting  the  Soviet  rule  and  accepting  the  orders 
of  the  Council  of  Peoples'  Commissaries,  the  Constitu- 
ent Assembly  acknowledges  its  duty  to  outline  a  form 
for  the  reorganization  of  society." 

The  Constituent  Assembly  refused  to  adopt  this, 
whereupon  the  Bolshevik  delegates  withdrew.  The  meet- 
ing of  the  Assembly  was  attended  by  many  disorders 
and  much  street  fighting.  There  was  violent  but  scat- 
tered opposition  to  the  Bolshevik  program.  The  Bol- 
shevik newspapers  claimed  that  the  Bolshevik  soldiers 


204    RUSSIA  FROM  THE  AMERICAN  EMBASSY 

were  fired  on  by  mobs.  The  soldiers  then  fired  into  the 
crowds.  Uritzky,  one  of  the  Bolshevik  leaders,  was 
among  the  wounded  in  this  street  fighting.  He  was  after- 
wards assassinated  and  the  Bolshevik  government  shot 
513  people  as  a  reprisal  for  this  deed. 

One  of  the  organs  of  the  Bolsheviks  stated  the  next 
C.ay  that  the  Constituent  Assembly  began  well,  but  that 
when  the  Right  Social  Revolutionists  began  to  assert 
themselves  its  fate  was  sealed.  "It  is  now  necessary  to 
work  on  the  enlightenment  of  the  masses." 

The  Dielo  Naroda  was  compelled  to  suspend  publi- 
cation. The  Nova  Vremya  was  also  suspended,  and 
its  editors  committed  to  trial  for  publishing  a  statement 
that  a  motor  lorry  containing  Red  Guards  and  Lett 
rifles  fired  on  the  barracks  of  the  Ismailov  and  Petrograd 
regiments.  The  Red  Guard  confiscated  and  destroyed 
all  non-Bolshevik  newspapers. 

A  delegation  of  the  Looga  Workmen's  and  Soldiers' 
Council  visited  Lenin  and  handed  him  a  resolution  of 
their  Council  supporting  the  Constituent  Assembly. 
Lenin  expressed  his  surprise  at  this  resolution.  The 
delegation  replied  that  not  all  the  Democracy  was  in 
favor  of  the  Council  government  and  that  only  the  Con- 
stituent Assembly  could  unite  it.  Lenin  answered  that 
he  had  in  his  pocket  a  decree  disbanding  the  Constituent 
Assembly,  and  that  orders  had  been  given  to  allow  no 
one  to  enter  the  Tauride  Palace.  The  delegation  asked 
what  would  happen  if  the  Constituent  Assembly  opened 
in  another  place.  Lenin  replied  no  one  would  support 
the  Constituent  Assembly,  and  that  it  would  be  dis- 
banded. Instead  a  convention  would  be  called  which 
would  be  formed  by  the  forthcoming  Congress  of  Work- 
men's, Soldiers'  and  Peasants'  Deputies. 

At  1:30  a.m.  following  the  first  day's  session  of  the 
Constituent  Assembly,  the  Central  Executive  Committee 


CONSTITUENT  ASSEMBLY  DISPERSED    205 

of  the  Council  of  Workmen's,  Soldiers'  and  Peasants' 
Deputes  issued  the  decree  referred  to  by  Lenin  disband- 
ing the  Constituent  Assembly.  The  decree  said: 

Jan™™  MMM*"*11*  As8?mbly>  °P<>"ed  on  the  5th  of 
January  (18th)   gave,  owing  to  circumstances  known  to 

-the  T^vtyf°Vhe  RlgW  ?°eial  ^evolutionists  Trty 
—the  Party.  of  Kerensky,  Avksentiev,  and  Tchernov 
Naturally  this  party  refused  to  consider  the  ateohtSy 
definite    clear,  unmistakable  proposal  of  the  samlm 


samm 
the  Centra    Execu  ive 


Coitp  en,      e     enra    Execu  ive 

Committee  of  the  Councils:  to  acknowledge  the  program 
of  the  Council  Government;  to  acknowledge  'the  declarT 
tion  of  Eight  of  the  Laboring  and  Exploited  ' 

e  ution  and  the 

tWcfi 


^S^S^ 


en? 


Adjournment  of  the  Constituent  Assembly  at  the  close 

r  its  first  and  only  session  was  enforced  in  the  most 

brutal  manner     A  drunken  sailor  said  to  the  depudes 

"I  am  tired  and  want  to  go  to  bed.    If  you  don't  Jet  out' 

I  will  turn  out  the  lights."  ' 


206    RUSSIA  FROM  THE  AMERICAN  EMBASSY 

On  the  morning  of  the  19th  of  January  guards  were 
stationed  at  the  entrance  of  the  palace  to  prevent  the 
entrance  of  the  deputies  or  delegates,  and  that  was  the 
end.  The  Constituent  Assembly,  forecasted  with  such 
promise  and  hope  just  ten  months  previously,  never  met 
again.  Bolshevism,  although  in  the  minority  and  repre- 
senting only  one-fourth  of  the  votes  cast  for  deputies, 
was  in  power  by  force. 

Anarchy  quickly  found  opportunity  in  the  success  of 
Bolshevism.  It  is  interesting  to  note  that  coincident 
with  the  forcible  usurpation  by  the  Bolsheviks  the  Anar- 
chists became  boldly  aggressive.  Three  or  four  days 
before  the  Constituent  Assembly  was  dispersed,  four 
Russians, — two  sailors,  a  workman,  and  an  anarchist 
orator — presented  to  the  Embassy  a  resolution  passed  by 
a  group  of  anarchists  on  the  yacht  Polar  Star.  This 
resolution  was  addressed,  "To  the  Envoy  of  the  United 
States  of  North  America, ' '  and  was  as  follows : 

"We,  sailors,  soldiers  and  workmen  of  the  town  of 
Helsingfors,  having  become  acquainted  from  all  sides 
with  the  fact  of  the  persecution  by  the  Government  of 
the  United  States  of  North  America  of  our  comrade 
Alexander  Berkman,  all  of  whose  guilt  lies  only  in  the  fact 
that  he  has  devoted  his  whole  life  to  the  cause  of  serving 
the  working  and  disinherited  class,  demand  the  imme- 
diate liberation  of  our  comrade  Alexander  Berkman.  In 
the  contrary  event  we  openly  announce  that  we  shall 
hold  the  representatives  of  the  Government  of  the  United 
States  personally  responsible  for  the  life  and  liberty  of 
the  revolutionary  and  champion  of  the  cause  of  the  peo- 
ple, comrade  Alexander  Berkman. 

"The  President:  S.  Krylov. 
"The  Secretary:  K.  Kutzy. 
Seal  of  the  Helsingfors  group  of  anarchists. " 

No  attention  was  paid  by  the  Embassy  to  the  resolu- 


CONSTITUENT  ASSEMBLY  DISPERSED    207 

tion  further  than  to  send  a  copy  to  the  Secretary  of  State 
at  Washington,  with  this  explanation : 

" Delegation  of  four  anarchists  just  visited  Embassy; 
after  stating  they  were  anarchists  said  they  represented 
sixty  per  cent  of  the  Baltic  Fleet  and  all  the  workmen 
and  soldiers  of  Helsingfors,  and  requested  to  see  the 
American  Ambassador.  I  sent  interpreter  Secretary 
Phelps  and  Private  Secretary  Johnston  to  ascertain  their 
mission.  Delegation  presented  resolution  in  Russian,  of 
which  following  is  translation.  Upon  hearing  the  reso- 
lution I  directed  the  two  attaches  above  mentioned  to 
say  I  was  engaged  and  would  not  see  them  whereupon 
they  asked  that  the  resolution  be  presented  to  the  Ameri- 
can Government.  The  delegation  was  told  this  would  be 
done  and  advised  that  no  definite  time  could  be  fixed  for 
reply  as  cable  service  was  irregular  and  unreliable.  The 
delegation  also  said  a  copy  of  resolution  was  being  sent 
to  Smolny  (Bolshevik  headquarters).  Don't  permit  con- 
sideration for  my  personal  safety  to  influence  govern- 
ment action." 

A  few  weeks  previous,  in  September,  the  anarchists 
had  held  a  meeting  and  had  put  out  "posters"  according 
to  their  usual  plan  of  presenting  their  views.  In  these 
posters  they  demanded  the  release  of  Berkman.  At  that 
time  an  inquiry  was  made  of  the  Embassy  by  the  Pro- 
visional Government  to  know  who  Berkman  was  and 
what  offense  he  had  committed. 

To  this  I  replied  that  Berkman  was  utterly  discredited 
by  organized  labor  in  the  United  States;  that  he  had 
been  an  opponent  of  all  kinds  of  government  and  an 
enemy  of  society.  I  said  that  he  had  been  arrested  for 
interfering  with  or  attempting  to  interfere  with  the 
enforcement  of  the  draft  law  and  was  awaiting  trial  on 
that  charge.  He  had  served  in  the  penitentiary  for  the 
attempted  assassination  of  Henry  C.  Frick,  who  at  the 
time  was  a  partner  of  Andrew  Carnegie. 


208    RUSSIA  FROM  THE  AMERICAN  EMBASSY 

This  information  was  given  to  the  Petrograd  news- 
papers and  printed.  Apparently  it  was  not  satisfactory 
to  the  anarchists,  but  beyond  an  anonymous  communica- 
tion sent  to  the  Embassy  nothing  more  was  heard  from 
them  until  the  Bolsheviks  had  set  up  their  government. 
The  anonymous  communication  was  signed,  "The  Black 
Point,"  and  was  addressed  "Ambassador."  It  was  to 
this  effect: 

"You  appear  too  often  in  the  press,  and  especially  in 
the  newspaper  Russkoe-Slovo  with  your  anecdotes  of 
a  true  American  model.  You  irritate  the  nerves.  Our 
advice  is  to  finish  up  with  this  childish  occupation.  Pack 
the  trunk  with  anecdotes  and  leave  for  your  native  coun- 
try, via  Archangel,  to  your  wise  Solomons.  It  would  be 
desirable  to  leave  not  later  than  December  15th,  1917,  in 
order  to  arrive  in  time  for  Christmas  Eve. ' ' 

With  the  dispersal  of  the  Constituent  Assembly  the 
anarchists  began  to  threaten.  Meetings  were  held  and 
violent  addresses  were  made.  In  a  letter  addressed  to 
my  son,  dated  four  days  after  the  dispersal  of  the  Con- 
stituent Assembly,  I  wrote: 

"The  morning  of  Saturday,  January  19th,  an  article 
appeared  in  the  Bureauvestnik,  the  anarchistic  organ. 
I  paid  little  more  attention  to  this  than  I  did  to  the 
resolution  passed  by  the  Helsingfors  anarchists,  of 
which  I  sent  you  a  copy.  The  next  morning,  however,  I 
learned  about  11  o'clock  that  two  well-known  men,  Ex- 
Ministers.  named  Shingarieff  and  Kokoshkin,  had  been 
murdered  in  a  hospital  about  four  blocks  from  the  Em- 
bassy. After  confirming  this  report  which  I  was  enabled 
to  do  by  sending  the  Commercial  Attache  to  look  at  the 
bodies,  I  began  to  think  that  the  threat  of  the  anarchists 
should  be  guarded  against.  During  the  afternoon  when 
I  was  presiding  at  a  meeting  of  the  Allied  Chiefs  of 
Missions  a  woman  telephoned  to  the  Embassy  saying  she 


CONSTITUENT  ASSEMBLY  DISPERSED    209 

had  some  important  information  to  impart  but  was  afraid 
to  come  to  the  Embassy  and  desired  that  I  send  someone 
to  meet  her  at  the  intersection  of  two  streets  about  eight 
blocks  from  the  Embassy.  Earl  Johnston,  and  Doctor 
Huntington,  Commercial  Attache,  went  and  met  her  and 
heard  from  her  the  following  story : 

"She  had  been  approached  the  night  before  by  a  sol- 
dier who  was  under  obligation  to  her,  and  who  professed 
to  have  some  wine  for  sale.    Upon  being  asked  where  he 
got  the  wine  he  replied  it  was  from  the  Italian  Embassy 
and  he  was  one  of  the  soldiers  who  had  done  the  looting 
the  night  or  several  nights  previous.    He  told  her  that 
I     the  American  Embassy  would  be  attacked  that  evening, 
*     and  the  building  burned  and  the  Ambassador  killed. 

"I  had  arranged  a  reception  or  tea  that  evening  to 
which  200  guests  had  been  invited,  to  say  good-by  to 
General  Judson,  the  Military  Attache  who  will  leave  to- 
morrow morning  for  America.  I  concluded  to  permit 
General  Judson  to  send  to  a  barracks  not  far  from  the 
Embassy  for  a  guard.  A  guard  of  ten  soldiers  (Bolshe- 
vik) was  secured  after  considerable  time,  and  came  to  the 
Embassy  about  9  p.m.  They  did  not  look  or  deport  them- 
selves as  soldiers,  but  I  told  Phil  to  give  them  cigarettes 
and  tea,  soup  and  bread,  which  he  did — he  had  to  give 
them  white  bread  which  is  very  scarce  here  and  a  great 
luxury.  They  consumed  that  rapidly  and  asked  for  more, 
which  Phil  provided.  The  guests  began  to  arrive  about 
9 :30,  but  mostly  in  uniform  as  they  were  military  attaches 
of  the,  other  Diplomatic  Missions.  Two  of  them,  how- 
ever, were  Russian  officers  and  came  in  uniform,  not 
knowing  there  was  a  guard  in  the  Embassy,  as  there 
never  had  been  one  before  since  the  last  Revolution.  The 
music  box  was  brought  into  use — it  is  a  great  luxury, 
tell  your  Mother — and  some  of  those  who  were  not  play- 
ing bridge  began  to  dance.  Phil  provided  a  most  excel- 


210    RUSSIA  FROM  THE  AMERICAN  EMBASSY 

lent  supper  which  all  the  guests  seemed  to  enjoy  greatly. 
It  was  unfortunate  that  there  was  an  entertainment  here 
that  evening,  and  more  unfortunate  that  the  two  Rus- 
sian officers  came  in  uniform.  I  heard  the  following  day 
from  the  dvornick  at  the  door  that  he  had  difficulty  in 
preventing  the  Bolshevik  soldiers  on  guard  from  invad- 
ing the  salon  to  take  the  shoulder  straps  off  of  the  Rus- 
sian officers.  The  order  has  been  issued  by  the  Bolshe- 
vik Government  that  shoulder  straps  should  be  abolished 
and  officers  now  get  no  more  pay  than  soldiers,  which  is 
five  or  seven  roubles  per  month.  I  gave  each  one  of  the 
soldiers  five  roubles  when  they  left  the  Embassy  for 
their  barracks  the  following  morning,  but  was  told  that 
they  regarded  the  gifts  contemptuously.  Under  these 
circumstances  I  have  concluded  not  to  request  any  addi- 
tional guard  for  the  Embassy ;  consequently,  am  attempt- 
ing  to  protect  it  by  its  attaches.  To-day  two  members 
of  the  marine  corps  who  were  serving  as  couriers  and 
were  about  to  leave  to-morrow  morning  were  ordered  by 
me  to  remain  and  to  live  in  the  Embassy.  They  remon- 
strated, but  I  was  very  emphatic — don't  know  at  this 
writing  whether  they  will  remain  or  not.  If  they  should 
go  after  my  order  to  remain  I  shall  cable  the  Department 
and  demand  that  they  be  punished. ' ' 

Later  in  the  month,  January,  1918,  I  wrote  home  as 
follows ; 

"At  an  anarchist  meeting  held  not  a  great  distance 
from  the  Embassy  about  two  weeks  ago  a  resolution 
was  passed  demanding  the  release  of  Berkman,  Mooney, 
Emma  Goldman,  et  al.,  and  threatening  'local  American 
Ambassador'  with  a  hostile  demonstration  in  front  of 
the  Embassy  if  he  did  not  procure  the  desired  libera- 
tions. That  resolution  was  sent  to  Trotzky,  the  Peoples' 
( 'ommissaire  for  Foreign  Affairs ;  Trotzky  was  at  Brest- 
Litovsk  negotiating  a  separate  peace,  and  his  assistant,  a 


CONSTITUENT  ASSEMBLY  DISPERSED    211 

Russian  Jew  named  Zalkend,  forwarded  the  resolution  to 
me  saying  he  felt  it  his  duty  to  do  so.    His  note  contained 
no  comment  whatever,  not  even  an  offer  of  protection, 
but  indicated  'save  yourself  if  you  can,'  or  might  be  con- 
strued that  way.    When  Lenin  heard  of  it  he  was  incensed 
and  directed  Zalkend  to  write  me  a  note  of  apology,  which 
Zalkend  failed  to  do,  but  thought  he  had  smoothed  the 
situation  over  by  sending  a  messenger  to  the  Embassy 
last  evening  at  seven  o'clock,  who  stated  that  the  anar- 
chists had  planned  an  attack  for  last  night  but  that 
Trotzky  had  attended  to  it,  or  prevented  it.    I  have  six 
guards  at  the  Embassy — all  Americans  and  well  armed, 
whom  I  kept  on  duty  last  night ;  furthermore,  Earl  John- 
ston and  American  Consul  Treadwell  and  two  or  three 
others  and  myself  were  here  on  hand  in  case  of  neces- 
sity.   No  attack  or  demonstration  occurred.    I  have  been 
communicating  or  keeping  in  touch  with  Smolny  through 
Raymond  Robins,  a  Chicago  man  who  is  in  charge  of  the 
American  Red  Cross  Mission  here.    He  says  no  one  be- 
lieves that  any  demonstration  was  planned  at  all.    Any- 
how Lenin  has  removed  Zalkend  and  put  in  his  place 
Tchecherin,  a  Bolshevik  who  was  interned  in  London  and 
whose  release  was  demanded  by  the  Bolsheviks  a  month 
ago  when  Trotzky  announced  that  no  British  would  be 
permitted  to  leave  Russia  until  Tchecherin  and  his  col- 
league, Petrov,  were  released.    The  British  Ambassador 
recommended  the  release  of  these  men,  and  they  were  set 
free.    The  anarchists  are  now  attempting  to  frighten  me 
into  recommending  the  release  of  Mooney  and  Berkman 
and  Goldman  but  as  you  know  I  don't  scare  very  easily. 
On  the  contrary  I  have  wired  the  Department  not  to  per- 
mit consideration  for  my  safety  to  influence  the  action 
of  the  Government. 

"I  received  last  night  from  the  Department  a  long 
cable  evidently  composed  by  the  President  giving  a  sum- 


' 


212    RUSSIA  FROM  THE  AMERICAN  EMBASSY 

mary  of  the  report  of  the  Commission  appointed  by  him 
to  investigate  the  Mooney  case.  The  Department  wired 
that  the  President  had  instructed  that  I  be  authorized  to 
publish  the  cable  if  I  saw  fit.  It  has  not  been  published 
yet  and  may  not  be. 

"The  Bolsheviks  seem  to  be  gaining  all  over  Russia 
but  as  our  only  source  of  information  is  the  Bolshevik 
press, — the  anti-Bolshevik  newspapers  having  been  sup- 
pressed,— it  is  difficult  to  tell  what  is  going  on  outside  of 
Petrograd  and  Moscow.  I  received  to-day  a  telegram 
from  American  Consul  at  Odessa  which  was  21  days 
enroute.  I  sent  two  telegrams  to  the  American  Consul 
at  Vladivostok  the  29th  of  December,  or  two  copies  of  the 
same  telegram,  one  of  which  was  sent  direct,  and  the 
other  around  the  globe, — or  via  Washington.  To  the 
former  I  have  as  yet  received  no  reply,  but  to  the  latter 
received  reply  to-day.  This  shows  you  how  difficult  it 
is  to  communicate  with  interior  points  in  Russia.  I  don't 
know  how  long  our  cables  will  be  in  transmission  to  the 
United  States  or  any  foreign  country.  Not  one  of  the 
Foreign  Missions  here  has  recognized  the  Bolshevik  gov- 
ernment, which  is  making  every  effort  to  obtain  recogni- 
tion and  consequently  is  making  it  more  disagreeable  for 
the  Foreign  Missions  from  day  to  day.  It  is  possible  that 
our  cable  communications  may  be  cut  off.  If  so,  most  or 
all  of  the  Foreign  Missions  will  have  to  leave.  The 
Department  has  not  only  complied  with  every  request  I 
have  made,  but  when  I  suggested  a  change  of  policy  in 
regard  to  the  Bolshevik  government  which  it  had  not 
recognized  in  accordance  with  my  advice,  it  declined  to 
follow  the  suggestion  saying  my  course  had  met  with 
approval  of  the  Department  and  it  saw  no  occasion  to 
change  it.  I  suggested  such  a  change  because  I  was  dis- 
gusted with  all  political  parties  and  all  capitalistic  in- 
terests in  Russia  for  not  organizing  and  deposing  the 


CONSTITUENT  ASSEMBLY  DISPERSED    213 

Bolshevik  government,  whose  principles  were  so  repre- 
hensible. My  advice  up  to  December  24th  was  to  await 
the  convening  of  the  Constituent  Assembly  which  was 
the  supreme  power  to  which  all  Russia  and  all  civilized 
countries  had  looked;  but  the  time  for  its  assembling, 
November  28th,  passed  and  when  the  Bolsheviks  arrested 
many  of  the  prominent  men  elected  to  that  Assembly  and 
intimidated  others  from  coming  I  began  to  feel  that  the 
only  way  to  keep  Russia  in  the  war  was  by  supporting 
the  people  in  authority.  One  reason  for  the  bourgeoisie, 
as  they  are  called,  offering  no  resistance  to  the  Bolshe- 
viks was  that  the  latter  had  control  of  the  army  which 
numbered  10,000,000  or  more  men,  with  guns,  who  had 
been  held  in  subjection  so  long  that  they  could  not  appre- 
ciate liberty  when  they  gained  it.  All  ranks  in  the  army 
and  navy  were  abolished,  even  shoulder  straps  being- 
prohibited  and  officers  drawing  the  same  pay  as  men 
after  being  selected  by  their  comrades  but  subject  to 
removal  by  the  same  authority.  I  don't  know  what  is  to 
become  of  this  country  as  80  per  cent  of  the  people  are 
uneducated  and  many  are  inclined  to  follow  the  false 
teachings  of  Bolshevism.  The  ignorant  believe  that  they 
can  divide  the  property  and  live  in  idleness  if  not  in 
luxury.  It  is  a  great  pity  that  Russia  is,  in  view  of  these 
circumstances,  richer  in  resources  than  the  United  States 
or  any  other  country  on  the  globe.  I  would  write  at 
greater  length  on  this  subject  but  have  not  the  time. 

"A  telegram  just  received  from  Helsingfors,  Finland, 
says  that  the  Bolsheviks  have  driven  out  the  bourgeois 
Senate  and  assumed  control  of  Finland — a  country  which 
declared  itself  independent  about  a  month  ago  and  whose 
independence  has  just  been  recognized  by  France  and 
five  or  six  other  governments.  Finland  has  been  a  part 
of  Russia  for  about  a  century,  but  the  Finns,  many  of 
whom  are  in  the  United  States,  have  preserved  their  own 


214    RUSSIA  FROM  THE  AMERICAN  EMBASSY 

identity  by  speaking  their  own  language,  having  their 
own  schools,  customs,  etc.  They  deserved  independence 
and  I  was  in  favor  of  their  having  it,  but  like  the  Rus- 
sians they  don't  seem  to  know  how  to  use  it. 

"I  have  just  been  called  to  the  phone  and  heard  that 
Smolny  Institute,  Bolshevik  Headquarters,  has  formally 
announced  that  a  revolution  similar  to  that  in  Russia  has 
begun  in  Germany.  The  Bolshevik  leaders  here,  most  of 
whom  are  Jews  and  90  per  cent  of  whom  are  returned 
exiles,  care  little  for  Russia  or  any  other  country  but  are 
internationalists  and  they  are  trying  to  start  a  world- 
wide social  revolution.  If  such  a  revolution  can  get  a 
foothold  in  Germany  where  the  people  are  obsequious  to 
those  above  them  and  domineering  and  tyrannical  to 
those  beneath  them  and  where  organization  and  system 
has  obtained  such  a  foothold  as  it  never  had  in  history 
before,  I  begin  to  fear  for  the  institutions  not  only  of 
England  but  of  the  Republic  of  France  and  the  thought 
arises  in  my  mind  whether  our  own  institutions  are 
safe." 

The  relationship  between  the  Bolsheviks  and  the 
anarchists  grew  closer  as  the  weeks  passed.  On  April 
15th  our  Consul-General  Summers  in  Moscow  cabled  the 
Secretary  of  State: 

"By  decrees  March  21st  Moscow  Commissariat  Mili- 
tary Affairs  incorporated  anarchist  forces  into  socialis- 
tic army  on  equal  footing.  Since  then  de  facto  authori- 
ties have  requisitioned  and  given  to  official  anarchist 
groups  approximately  thirty  large  private  residences  for 
publication  newspapers  and  other  propaganda.  As  re- 
sult of  protection  present  government  anarchism  has 
openly  spread  over  Russia.  As  a  result  of  growing 
power  and  insults  offered  Colonel  Robins  of  the  Ameri- 
can Red  Cross,  who  is  on  very  intimate  terms  with  Lenin 
and  Trotzky,  orders  were  given  on  the  13th  to  arrest  all 


CONSTITUENT  ASSEMBLY  DISPERSED    215 

anarchists.  This  was  done  after  considerable  resistance 
and  partial  destruction  by  artillery  of  the  houses  occu- 
pied by  anarchists.  It  is  understood  also  that  Count 
Mirbach,  the  German  Ambassador,  who  is  expected  in 
Moscow  daily,  warned  the  local  authorities  that  anar- 
chism must  cease  before  he  arrived. " 


CHAPTER  XV 
THE  DIAMANDI  INCIDENT 

I  NEVER  saw  Trotzky.  I  saw  Lenin  on  one  occasion. 
It  was  when  I  went  as  Dean  of  the  Diplomatic  Corps, 
accompanied  by  all  Allied  and  Neutral  Chiefs,  to  demand 
the  release  of  the  Roumanian  Minister,  Diamancli.  The 
British  Ambassador,  Sir  George  Buchanan,  had  left 
Petrograd  two  weeks  before.  The  Roumanian  Min- 
ister had  been  arrested  and  put  in  the  fortress  on  the 
Russian  New  Year 's  Evening,  our  14th  of  January,  1918. 
I  called  the  Corps  to  meet  at  the  American  Embassy  the 
following  day.  There  were  twenty  of  us  altogether, 
thirteen  representing  the  Allied  and  seven  the  Neutral 
countries.  All  of  us  signed  the  demand  for  the  release. 
Some  of  the  others  were  disposed  to  have  me  go  accom- 
panied by  two  Neutrals  and  two  Allied  Chiefs.  There 
was  some  delay  about  agreement  on  the  four  members 
besides  myself,  and  I  proposed  that  we  all  go  in  a  body. 
I  had  arranged  a  meeting  through  the  telephone  with 
Lenin,  who  speaks  English. 

The  Bolsheviks  had  been  in  control  of  the  government 
about  two  months  when  the  Roumanian  Minister  was 
arrested.  They  retained  the  same  headquarters  that  they 
occupied  when  the  Provisional  Government  was  over- 
thrown, which  was  Smolny  Institute.  Smolny  had  been 
used  as  a  girls'  school.  When  Lenin  appointed  the  time 
for  the  Diplomatic  Corps  to  call  upon  him,  he  informed 
the  leaders  of  the  Bolshevik  Party  thereof.  Some  of 
these  leaders  suggested  that  Smolny  Institute  should  be 
furnished  with  rugs  and  new  furniture  for  the  occasion. 

216 


THE  DIAMANDI  INCIDENT  217 


Others  advised  Lenin  to  receive  the  Diplomatic  Corps 
in  his  own  office,  without  rising  and  without  inviting  them 
to  take  seats,  and  to  cut  the  interview  short  by  asking 
the  Diplomats  in  a  curt  tone  of  voice  what  they  wished. 
A  compromise  was  decided  on  by  Lenin,  who  did  not 
procure  any  additional  furnishings,  but  met  us  at  the 
door  of  his  office. 

I,  as  Dean  of  the  Corps,  accosted  him  first,  saying  to 
him  I  was  the  American  Ambassador  and  Dean  of  the 
Diplomatic  Corps.  I  introduced  the  other  Ambassadors 
and  the  Ministers  by  their  official  titles.  Lenin  thereupon 
invited  us  into  a  room  about  twelve  by  fifteen  feet,  and 
showed  the  Ministers  and  Charges  to  seats  upon  a 
wooden  bench.  He  showed  the  Ambassadors  to  chairs, 
and  said:  "Be  seated,  gentlemen."  I  read  in  English, 
and  while  standing,  the  demand  which  we  had  all  signed, 
and  then  had  Livingston  Phelps  read  it  in  French. 

Lenin  said:  "Let  us  discuss  the  matter."  I  immedi- 
ately replied:  "No  discussion  on  the  subject  whatever." 
I  said  that  the  person  of  a  diplomatic  representative  was 
inviolate  and  was  immune;  that  we  stood  on  this  prin- 
ciple recognized  in  international  relations  and  demanded 
the  release  of  Diamandi.  The  French  Ambassador  be- 
gan to  talk.  A  discussion  ensued  lasting  at  least  an 
hour.  Lenin  was  pleasant  in  manner,  throughout  the 
meeting.  At  the  close  of  the  talk  I  got  up  and  said: 
"We'll  end  this  discussion  here." 

The  Serbian  Minister  had  made  a  very  impassioned 
speech  in  French  in  which  he  had  said  the  Germans  and 
Austrians  had  invaded  his  beloved  land,  killing  many 
innocent  citizens,  women  and  children.  He  said  that  the 
Serbians  did  not  revenge  themselves  on  the  German  Min- 
ister or  the  Austrian  Minister,  when  they  could  have 
done  so,  observing  the  custom,  which  had  never  been 
violated,  of  giving  ministers  of  the  belligerent  countries 


218    RUSSIA  FROM  THE  AMERICAN  EMBASSY 

safe  conduct  through  the  border.  It  was  evident  that 
the  Bolsheviks  saw  they  were  in  a  very  embarrassing 
position.  The  Diplomats  would  have  left  Petrograd  if 
Diamandi  had  not  been  released. 

Lenin  said  he  would  refer  the  demand  to  the  Council 
of  Commissars,  that  is  to  say  practically  the  Bolshevik 
Executive  Committee,  and  would  let  us  know  by  twelve 
o'clock  that  night,  or  as  soon  as  the  matter  was  passed 
upon.  I  told  Lenin  I  would  be  in  the  Embassy  through- 
out the  evening.  He  phoned  me  about  midnight  that  the 
Central  Soviet  had  concluded  to  release  Diamandi.  The 
release  took  place  the  next  day  about  one  o'clock,  but 
the  Roumanian  Minister  was  ordered  to  leave  Petrograd 
within  ten  days  after  that,  and  was  given  only  twenty- 
four  hours '  notice.  I  went  to  the  Roumanian  Legation  to 
say  good-by,  but  found  that  Minister  Diamandi  had 
already  gone  to  the  Finnish  Station.  I  followed  him 
there,  and  caught  the  train  before  he  left.  He  was  going 
to  Sweden.  He  crossed  at  Torneo,  which  was  about 
thirty  hours'  distance  by  regular  schedule,  but  he  was 
three  weeks  in  getting  there.  I  heard  afterwards  that 
the  Bolshevik  Commissar  who  had  the  Minister  in  charge 
carried  a  communication  to  the  local  Commissar  ordering 
that  the  Roumanian  Minister  be  shot  when  they  reached 
Torneo ;  but  a  revolution  had  taken  place  there  and  the 
Whites  were  in  control,  having  taken  Torneo  out  of  the 
hands  of  the  Reds  the  day  previous.  The  Whites  ar- 
rested the  Bolshevik  Commissar  when  he  came  into 
Torneo  and  it  was  reported  that  they  shot  him  instead  of 
Minister  Diamandi. 

The  arrest  and  imprisonment  of  Diamandi  will  pass 
into  diplomatic  history  as  an  act  of  most  extraordinary 
character.  It  was  an  incident  which  gained  in  signifi- 
cance through  later  developments. 

On  the  day  following  the  call  of  the  Diplomatic  Corps 


N.  PREBENSEN 
Norwegian  Minister  to  Russia 


SIR  GEORGE  W.  BUCHANAN 
British  Ambassador  to  Russia 


COUNT  DIAMANDI 

Roumanian  Minister  to  Russia 


T.  NOULENS 
French  Ambassador  to  Russia 


THE  DIAMANDI  INCIDENT  219 

at  Smolny,  the  organ  of  the  Bolsheviks  Pravda 
(Truth)  printed  an  astonishing  statement  that  Zalkend, 
the  Assistant  Commissar  (Trotzky  being  down  in  Brest- 
Litovsk)  had  received  by  telephone  information  to  this 
effect : 

1  'American  Ambassador  assures  he  will  immediately 
after  the  release  of  Diamandi  go  to  him  with  protest 
against  the  treatment  of  the  Russian  troops  in  Eoumania, 
and  will  make  through  the  American  Representative  at 
Roumania,  a  necessary  statement  to  the  Roumanian  Min- 
istry. He  regards  the  act  of  Diamandi 's  arrest  as  a 
formal  expression  of  protest  of  the  Russian  Government 
against  the  activities  of  the  Roumanian  Commander-in- 
Chief." 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  I  had  sent  no  statement  and  had 
authorized  no  one  to  make  any  statement  for  me,  by  tele- 
phone or  otherwise,  to  Zalkend.  Apparently  the  state- 
ment had  been  given  out  by  Zalkend  to  save  the  face  of 
the  Bolshevik  Government.  It  was  not  until  some  time 
later  that  I  learned  what  was  behind  this  action  of  Zal- 
kend's.  Diamandi  after  his  release  referred  to  this  pub- 
lication in  Pravda  and  expressed  to  the  Diplomatic 
Corps  his  surprise  and  regret  on  account  of  it.  I  imme- 
diately addressed  to  him  a  letter  in  which  I  said: 

*  *  My  dear  Colleague : 

"I  am  surprised  and  pained  to  learn  from  you  that 
you  for  a  moment  think  that  I  would  or  could  justify 
your  arrest  and  confinement  in  Peter  and  Paul  Fortress 
as  I  have  had  only  one  opinion  on  the  subject,  and  have 
made  no  expressions  concerning  it  other  than  to  deplore 
such  an  unprecedented  infraction  on  diplomatic  immu- 
nities. I  have  concurred  in  the  sentiment  of  our  col- 
leagues, allied  and  neutral  chiefs  of  missions,  and  as 
the  doyen  of  the  Diplomatic  Corps  accompanied  by  all 


the  members  thereof  presented  to  the  President  of  the 
Commissars  the  demand  for  your  immediate  and  uncon- 
ditional release  and  stated  in  doing  so  that  we  could  not 
enter  into  any  discussion  concerning  the  causes  of  your 
arrest. 

1 '  I  have  had  no  communication  direct  nor  indirect,  nor 
have  I  sent  any  message  to  anyone  connected  with  the 
Soviet  Government  on  the  subject  of  your  arrest  or  your 
release.  The  dragoman  of  the  Embassy  by  my  direction 
telephoned  to  Smolny  Institute  about  midnight  of  the 
14th  to  ask  whether  the  decision  concerning  your  release 
had  been  determined,  but  he  was  not  instructed  nor 
authorized  to  make  any  other  inquiry  and  certainly  no 
condition  concerning  your  release,  and  he  informs  me 
that  he  did  not  do  so  or  even  think  of  doing  so.'* 

There  was  an  echo  to  this  Diamandi  incident  at  the 
meeting  of  the  Bolshevik  Councils  some  weeks  later. 
Babovski,  one  of  the  Bolshevik  leaders,  in  that  congress 
expressed  regret  that  the  Roumanian  Minister  had  spent 
only  twenty-four  hours  outside  the  walls  of  his  Embassy. 
' '  This  matter  can  be  righted, ' '  he  said, ' '  and  we  will  give 
the  most  active  assistance  to  Roumanian  workmen  and 
peasants  to  help  them  hide  away  the  Messrs.  Diamandis 
where  they  should  be." 

The  circumstances  which  led  the  Bolsheviks  to  arrest 
and  imprison  the  Roumanian  Minister  came  to  my 
knowledge  some  time  after  the  visit  of  the  Diplomatic 
Corps  tc  Lenin.  Those  circumstances  went  to  show  not 
only  that  the  Bolsheviks  were  acting  in  the  interests  of 
the  Germans  in  this  matter,  but  under  special  requests 
from  them. 

A  letter  from  A.  Joffe,  and  marked  "confidential"  was 
sent  from  Brest-Litovsk,  dated  December  31st  (Old 
Style),  1917,  addressed  "To  the  Council  of  People's  Com- 


THE  DIAMANDI  INCIDENT  221 

missars  of  Petrograd. "  A.  Joffe  was  President  of  the  del- 
egation representing  the  Bolshevik  Government  in  the 
peace  negotiations  at  Brest.   This  letter  opened  with- 
•'Comrade  L.  D.  Trotzky  instructed  me  to  bring  to  the 
knowledge  of  the  Council  of  People's  Commissars  the  mo 
tives  of  his  telegraphic  order  about  the  arrest  of  the 
Roumanian  diplomatic  representatives  at  Petrograd  " 
The  letter  stated  that  General  Hoffmann  of  the  German 
Peace  Delegation  "pointed  out  the  necessity  of  sendin- 
of  sure  agents  into  the  Roumanian  Army  and  the  possi° 
Wity  to  arrest  the  Roumanian  Legation  at  Petersburg 
Petrograd)  in  whole;  also  to  take  repressive  measures 
against  the  Roumanian  King  and  the  Roumanian  Chief 
Command.     After  this   conversation   Comrade   L    D 
Trotzky  ordered  in  a  telegraphic  way  the  arrest  of  the 
Roumanian  representative  at  Petersburg  (Petrograd) 
The   above-mentioned   report   is    sent   with   a   special 

TnT;  PT^  G'  Br°SOff'  Wh°  wiU  ^e  to  Com- 
mander Podvoyski  secret  information  concerning  the 

of  who™  r    6  ?TUT  *"*  °f  persons> the  names 
of  whom  Comrade  Brosoff  will  tell.    All  of  those  persons 

S  T'v  TA6  fUDd  °f  the  German  Kerosene- 
Irade  Bank,  which  bought  near  Borislave  the  stock 
society  Fanto  &  Co.  The  chief  direction  of  the  agents 
will  belong  according  to  General  Hoffmann's  indication 
to  the  well-known  Wolff  Venigel,  who  has  under  lus 
observation  the  military  missions  of  the  Allied 
countries." 

Very  significant  was  the  conclusion  of  this  Joffe  letter- 
What  concerns  the  British  and  American  representa- 
tives, General  Hoffmann  said  that  the  German  staff 
approved  the  measures  taken  by  Comrade  Trotzky  and 
lr°ff    C°n0erning    looking    after    their 


Still  more  convincing  evidence,  perhaps,  of  Lenin's 


222  RUSSIA  FROM  THE  AMERICAN  EMBASSY 

employment  as  the  agent  of  Germany  was  afforded  in  a 
newspaper  interview  with  General  William  Hoffmann, 
Chief  of  Staff  of  the  Eastern  Army  of  Germany,  which 
appeared  in  the  newspapers  of  December  24th,  1920. 
General  Hoffmann  was  quoted  as  saying : 

"As  Chief  of  Staff  of  the  East  Army  during  the  war, 
I  directed  the  propaganda  against  the  Russian  Army. 
The  General  Staff  naturally  made  use  of  every  possible 
means  to  break  through  the  Russian  front.  One  of  these 
means  was  poisoned  gas,  another  was  Lenin.  The  Im- 
perial regime  dispatched  Lenin  to  Russia  from  the  Swiss 
frontier.  With  our  consent,  Lenin  and  his  friends  dis- 
organized the  Russian  army.  Von  Kuehlmann  (former 
German  Secretary  for  Foreign  Affairs),  Count  Czernin 
(Austro-Hungarian  Foreign  Minister),  and  I  then  closed 
the  Brest-Litovsk  Treaty  so  that  we  could  throw  our 
army  against  the  West  front.  While  at  Brest  we  were 
convinced  that  the  Bolsheviks  could  not  hold  power  more 
than  three  weeks. 

* '  On  my  word  of  honor  as  a  German  general,  in  spite 
of  the  valuable  service  Trotzky  and  Lenin  rendered,  we 
neither  knew  nor  foresaw  the  danger  to  humanity  from 
the  consequences  of  this  journey  of  Bolsheviks  to 
Russia." 

Shortly  after  the  appearance  of  this  interview,  General 
Hoffmann  attempted  to  repudiate  it.  While  I  was  in 
Washington,  early  in  March,  1921,  to  present  my  resig- 
nation as  Ambassador  to  Russia  to  the  outgoing  Admin- 
istration, I  was  told  that  this  interview  with  General 
Hoffmann  was  shown  to  him  before  publication,  and  that 
he  signed  his  name  to  it  in  token  of  approval. 


CHAPTER  XVI 
THE  BREST-LITOVSK  PEACE 

THE  Bolsheviks  acted  quickly  after  announcing  their 
new  government  under  the  form  of  the  ' '  Council  of  Com- 
missars of  the  People." 

On  the  7th  of  November,  1917,  Trotzky  as  "the  Com- 
missary of  the  People  for  Foreign  Affairs,"  addressed 
this  communication  to  the  American  Embassy : 

'.'In  drawing  your  attention  to  the  text  of  the  proposi- 
tion for  an  armistice  and  a  Democratic  peace  without 
annexations  or  contributions,  founded  on  the  rights  of 
people  to  dispose  of  themselves,  proposals  approved  by 
the  Congress  of  the  Council  of  Workmen  and  Soldiers, 
I  have  the  honor  to  beg  you,  Mr.  Ambassador,  to  be  good 
enough  to  regard  the  above-mentioned  documents  as  a 
formal  proposal  for  an  armistice  without  delay  on  all  the 
fronts,  and  for  the  opening  without  delay  of  negotiations 
for  peace — a  proposal  which  the  plenipotentiary  govern- 
ment of  the  Russian  Republic  is  addressing  simultan- 
eously to  all  the  belligerent  nations  and  to  their  govern- 
ments. 

"I  beg  you,  Mr.  Ambassador,  to  be  good  enough  to 
accept  the  assurance  of  the  perfect  consideration  and 
very  profound  respect  of  the  government  of  the  Councils 
for  the  people  of  the  United  States,  who  also,  like  all  the 
other  peoples  exhausted  by  this  incomparable  butchery, 
cannot  help  but  ardently  desire  peace.'* 

The  armistice  between  the  Bolsheviks  and  the  Germans 
took  effect  at  the  end  of  November,  1917.  Trotzky  an- 
nounced that  hostilities  had  ceased  on  the  Russian  front 
and  that  preliminary  negotiations  would  be  started  on 
the  2nd  of  December.  His  announcement  said: 

223 


224    RUSSIA  FROM  THE  AMERICAN  EMBASSY 

"The  Allied  governments  and  all  diplomatic  repre- 
sentatives in  Russia  are  kindly  requested  to  reply 
whether  they  wish  to  take  part  in  a  negotiation." 

The  British  Ambassador,  who  at  that  time  was  Dean 
of  the  Diplomatic  Corps,  made  public  a  statement  that 
Trotzky 's  letter  with  the  proposal  of  a  general  armistice 
was  not  received  until  nineteen  hours  after  the  receipt 
by  the  Russian  Commander-in-Chief  of  the  Bolsheviks 
of  the  order  to  open  immediate  negotiations  for  an 
armistice.  I  transmitted  the  communication  from 
Trotzky  to  the  American  Government,  but  made  no 
answer  to  Trotzky,  as  the  United  States  had  not  recog- 
nized the  Bolshevik  Government.  Lieut.-Col.  Kerth, 
representing  the  Military  Mission  of  the  United  States 
at  the  front  in  Russia,  did  address  the  Commander-in- 
Chief  of  the  Russian  Army  this  protest : 

"In  accordance  with  definite  instructions  of  my  Gov- 
ernment, transmitted  to  me  by  the  Ambassador  of  the 
United  States  of  America  in  Petrograd,  I  have  the  honor 
to  inform  you  that  in  view  of  the  fact  that  the  Republic 
of  the  United  States  is  carrying  on  a  war  in  alliance  with 
Russia,  which  war  has  as  its  basis  the  struggle  of  democ- 
racy against  autocracy,  my  Government  categorically 
and  energetically  protests  against  any  separate  armistice 
which  may  be  made  by  Russia. ' ' 

It  was  not  until  the  12th  of  March,  1918,  that  the  terms 
of  this  peace  were  approved  by  the  Soviet  Congress  at 
Moscow,  but  in  the  meantime  Lenin  and  Trotzky  had  not 
delayed  the  work  of  demoralizing  the  Russian  Army. 
Lenin,  it  must  be  remembered,  had  come  into  Russia 
from  Switzerland,  traveling  through  Germany  in  a  pri- 
vate car  and  being  abundantly  supplied  with  means. 
"WTien  I  went  to  Russia  there  was  an  army  enlisted  of 
12,000,000  men.  It  was  increased  to  16,000,000  before 


THE  BREST-LITOVSK  PEACE  225 

the  revolution  against  the  Monarchy  in  March,  1917,  and 
there  was  a  call  for  3,000,000  additional.  Of  those  16,- 
000,000  men,  2,000,000  had  been  captured  and  2,000,000 
had  been  killed  or  died  from  disease,  so  that  the  army  at 
the  time  of  the  armistice  entered  into  by  the  Bolsheviks 
with  the  Germans  numbered  about  12,000,000  men,  not 
equaled  in  numbers  by  any  other  nation  in  any  war. 

With  the  signing  of  the  armistice  this  army  demobi- 
lized itself.  It  melted  away  like  snow  before  a  summer 's 
sun.  Disintegration  continued  during  the  period  of 
negotiations  at  Brest-Litovsk,  and  while  the  treaty  was 
awaiting  approval  by  the  Soviet  Congress.  The  soldiers 
left  their  regiments  in  large  bodies.  They  would  get  on 
trains  and  the  trains  would  start  before  they  asked 
where  they  were  going.  Some  of  these  soldiers  sold 
their  arms  for  a  trifle;  others  threw  their  arms  away, 
and  some  took  their  arms  home. 

As  soon  as  the  armistice  had  been  agreed  to  by  the 
Bolsheviks,  the  Germans  moved  more  than  100  divisions 
from  their  Eastern  front  to  France,  and  began  to  pre- 
pare for  their  drive,  in  March,  1918,  against  the  Allied 
armies.  History  records  how  nearly  successful  this  drive 
was.  Had  it  not  been  for  the  demoralization  of  the  Rus- 
sian army  by  the  Bolsheviks,  hundreds  of  thousands  of 
lives  of  French  and  British  and  American  soldiers  would 
have  been  spared.  Lenin  and  Trotzky  demoralized  the 
Russian  army  and  thereby  caused  the  war  to  be  pro- 
longed. 

In  various  ways  the  Bolsheviks  promptly  contributed 
directly  or  indirectly  to  strengthen  the  Germans  during 
that  period  immediately  following  their  armistice.  In 
March  I  received  through  Consul- General  Madden  Sum- 
mers, of  Moscow,  reports  from  our  consuls, — Macgowan 
at  Irkutsk,  Nielson  at  Samara,  Jenkins  at  Chita,  and 
others,  showing  the  movement  of  released  prisoners  and 


226    RUSSIA  FROM  THE  AMERICAN  EMBASSY 

of  material  from  Russia  to  Germany.  Nielson  from 
Samara  reported  many  cars  of  cotton  loaded  and  being 
shipped  by  German  firms. 

-  The  Bolsheviks  went  through  the  form  of  inviting 
England,  France,  Italy  and  America  to  enter  into  nego- 
tiations for  peace  under  the  armistice  with  Germany. 
They  waited  ten  days,  professedly  to  give  the  other 
countries  time  to  come  in.  Then  they  proceeded  with 
the  negotiation  of  a  separate  peace.  Trotzky  was  at  the 
head  of  the  Bolsheviks  in  the  first  negotiations.  Lenin 
remained  in  Petrograd  and  was  practically  the  whole 
Bolshevik  Government.  While  I  have  no  doubt  that 
Lenin  was  a  German  agent  from  the  beginning  and  dis- 
bursed German  money,  I  believe,  and  so  wired  the  De- 
partment, that  his  real  purpose  was  promotion  of  world- 
wide social  revolution.  He  would  have  taken  British 
money,  American  money,  and  French  money  and  used  it 
to  promote  his  purpose.  He  told  a  man  who  asked  what 
he  was  doing  in  Russia  that  he  was  trying  an  "experi- 
ment in  government"  on  the  Russian  people.  Germany's 
desire  to  demoralize  Russia  and  break  up  the  Provisional 
Government  gave  Lenin  his  opportunity,  of  which  he 
made  good  use. 

When  Trotzky  demurred  to  the  hard  terms  offered  by 
the  Germans  in  the  first  peace  negotiations,  General 
Hoffmann,  the  head  of  the  German  delegation,  notified 
him  and  his  Bolshevik  associates  that  Germany  would 
not  prolong  the  negotiations  more  than  two  or  three  days 
further,  and  said:  "You  will  have  to  say  definitely 
whether  you  will  accept  these  terms  or  not."  Then  it 
was  that  Trotzky  showed  real  ability.  He  made  that 
dramatic  stand  and  replied  in  effect:  "We  decline  to 
sign  those  severe  peace  terms,  but  Russia  will  fight  no 
more." 

This  was  the  situation  which  rather  stunned  the  Ger- 


THE  BBEST-LITOVSK  PEACE 


227 


S  k  ,         armistice,  which  required  twelve  L«° 


« 


will 


, 

and  all  eoIfl1          f  C°Untries 
sionaries,  who  are  preDarprI  f  n  7.  f  dlcule  us  as  vi- 

ff*  ^  ^ 


228    RUSSIA  FROM  THE  AMERICAN  EMBASSY 

The  formal  notification  which  the  Trotzky  delegation 
handed  to  the  Germans  at  Brest  was  a  curiosity : 

"In  the  name  of  the  People's  Commissaries,  which  is 
the  government  of  the  Russian  Federated  Republic,  we 
hereby  bring  to  the  knowledge  of  the  governments  and 
peoples  at  war  with  us,  to  our  allies  and  to  the  neutral 
countries,  that  refusing  to  sign  an  annexationist  treaty, 
Russia  declares  on  her  part  the  state  of  war  with  Ger- 
many, Austro-Hungary,  Turkey  and  Bulgaria  has  ceased. 
That  the  Russian  troops  are  simultaneously  given  orders 
to  demobolize  completely  on  all  fronts." 

When  Trotzky  returned  to  Petrograd  after  making  this 
grandstand  play,  which  dumbfounded  the  Germans, 
Lenin  reprimanded  him  and  told  him  the  Russian  Soviet 
Government  would  be  compelled  to  agree  to  terms  still 
more  severe,  whereupon  Trotzky  resigned  as  Minister  of 
Foreign  Affairs  and  was  made  Minister  of  War  and 
organized  the  Red  Army,  which  organization  is  in  exis- 
tence up  to  the  present  time,  and  waged  war  successfully 
for  a  time  against  Poland  and  is  now  threatening 
Esthonia.  The  Red  Army  is  composed  of  Lettish  and 
Chinese  troops  and  conscripted  Russians.  It  has  the  rep- 
utation of  being  the  most  strictly  disciplined  and  the 
most  cruel  army  in  history. 

The  actions  of  these  Bolsheviks  in  these  peace  negotia- 
tions were  without  precedent  as  far  as  I  know  in  the  his- 
tory of  international  relations,  but  it  may  be  said  that 
Lenin  and  Trotzky  have  disregarded  many  precedents. 
While  I  have  no  agreement  whatever  with  Lenin's  views, 
my  judgment  credited  him  with  sincerity.  (This  sentence 
was  written  soon  after  my  return.  I  have  changed  my 
mind  in  regard  to  Lenin's  sincerity.)  He  proved  ruthless 
and  unscrupulous,  however,  in  attempting  to  carry  out  his 
convictions.  When  his  power  was  threatened  and  could 
not  be  maintained  in  any  other  way,  he  permitted  the 


THE  BREST-LITOVSK  PEACE  229 

Reign  of  Terror.  It  will  be  recalled  that  Trotzky  refused 
to  be  a  party  m  person  to  the  second  negotiations  with  the 
Germans,  and  that  Tchecherin  represented  the  Bolshe- 
viks. 

While  the  peace  negotiations  were  going  on  at  Brest 

ne  of  my  -scouts,"  whose  duty  it  was  to  look,  listen 

report,  brought  to  the  Embassy  this  memorandum: 

'The  anarchist  movement  strengthens  dailv  DnrW 
a  visit  to  the  Foreign  Office,  the  anarchist  representativf 
said  that  in  case  the  anarchists  condemned  in  AmpriVa 
are  not  released  the  American  Embassy  at  Petr^grad 
and  the  Ambassador  would  pay  the  penalty." 

^  A  short  time  before  the  Brest-Litovsk  peace  was  rati- 
fied at  Moscow  by  the  All-Russian  Soviet  Congress  I 
had  cabled  the  State  Department  that  the  Congress 
would  meet  to  act  upon  the  peace  treaty,  and  that  I 
thought  the  Russian  people  should  have  some  expression 
of  interest  on  the  part  of  the  American  people.  Presi- 
dent Wilson  cabled  a  message  addressed  to  the  Russian 
people  through  this  Soviet  Congress.  He  said: 

"May  I  not  take  advantage  of  the  meeting  of  the  Con- 
gress of  the  Soviets  to  express  the  sincere  sympathy 
which  the  people  of  the  United  States  feel  for  the  Rus- 
sian people  at  this  moment  when  the  German  power  has 
been  thrust  in  to  interrupt  and  turn  back  the  whole  strug- 
gle for  freedom  and  substitute  the  wishes  of  Germany 

the  purpose  of  the  people  of  Russia? 

"Although  the  Government  of  the  United  States  is 

unhappily,  not  now  in  a  position  to  render  the  direct  and 

effective  aid  it  would  wish  to  render,  I  beg  to  assure  the 

people  of  Russia  through  the  Congress  that  it  will  avail 

itself  of  every  opportunity  to  secure  for  Russia  once 

lore  complete  sovereignty  and  independence  in  her  own 


230 

affairs,  and  full  restoration  to  her  great  role  in  the  life 
of  Europe  and  the  modern  world. 

"The  whole  heart  of  the  people  of  the  United  States 
is  with  the  people  of  Russia  in  the  attempt  to  free  them- 
selves forever  from  autocratic  government  and  become 
the  masters  of  their  own  life." 

On  the  same  day  Samuel  Gompers,  President  of  the 
American  Federation  of  Labor,  cabled  the  All-Russian 
Congress  of  Soviets  as  follows: 

"We  address  you  in  the  name  of  world  liberty.  We 
assure  you  that  the  people  of  the  United  States  are 
pained  by  every  blow  at  Russian  freedom,  as  they  would 
be  by  a  blow  at  their  own.  The  American  people  desire 
to  be  of  service  to  the  Russian  people  in  their  struggle 
to  safeguard  freedom  and  realize  its  opportunities.  We 
desire  to  be  informed  as  to  how  we  may  help. 

"We  speak  for  the  great  organized  movement  of 
working  people  who  are  devoted  to  the  cause  of  freedom 
and  the  ideals  of  democracy.  We  assure  you  also  that 
the  whole  American  Nation  ardently  desires  to  be  help- 
ful to  Russia  and  awaits  with  eagerness  an  indication 
from  Russia  as  to  how  help  may  most  effectively  be 
extended. 

"To  all  those  who  strive  for  freedom,  we  say:  Cour- 
age! Justice  must  triumph  if  all  free  people  stand 
united  against  autocracy !  We  await  your  suggestions. ' ' 

President  Wilson's  message  was  presented  to  the 
Congress.  Zinoviev,  who  was  the  head  of  the  Bolshevik 
Government  in  Petrograd,  was  in  Moscow  when  the  cable 
from  President  Wilson  was  printed.  He  returned  to 
Petrograd  two  or  three  days  later  and  said  in  a  speech: 
"We  slapped  the  President  of  the  United  States  in  the 
face." 

The  reply  to  the  President's  message  to  the  Republic 


THE  BREST-LITOVSK  PEACE  231 

of  Russia  was  intended  by  the  Bolsheviks  for  effect  on 
the  workingmen  of  the  United  States.  It  was  practically 
an  invitation  to  revolution  in  the  United  States.  It  is  a 
fair  illustration  of  what  Bolshevism  means. 

"The  All-Russian  Congress  of  Soviets  expresses  its 
appreciation  to  the  American  people,  and  first  of  all  to 
the  laboring  and  exploited  classes  in  the  United  States 
for  the  message  sent  by  the  President  of  the  United 
States  to  the  Congress  of  Soviets  in  this  time  when  the 
Russian  Socialistic  Soviet  Republic  is  living  through 
most  difficult  trials. 

"The  Russian  Republic  uses  the  occasion  of  the  mes- 
sage from  President  Wilson  to  express  to  all  peoples 
who  are  dying  and  suffering  from  the  horrors  of  this 
imperialistic  war  its  warm  sympathy  and  firm  conviction 
that  the  happy  time  is  near  when  the  laboring  masses 
in  all  bourgeois  countries  will  throw  off  the  capitalistic 
yoke  and  establish  a  socialistic  state  of  society,  which 
is  the  only  one  capable  of  assuring  a  permanent  and  just 
peace  as  well  as  the  culture  and  well-being  of  all  who 
toil." 

Immediately  following  the  ratification  of  the  peace 
treaty  at  Moscow,  I  gave  out  a  statement  for  publication, 
March  16,  1918.  The  Bolshevik  papers  at  Moscow  were 
closed  against  communications  from  the  American  Em- 
bassy, but  in  other  cities  the  statement  was  printed.  I 
had  it  translated  into  Russian : 

"I  shall  not  leave  Russia  until  forced  to  depart.  My 
government  and  the  American  people  are  too  deeply 
interested  in  the  welfare  of  the  Russian  people  to  aban- 
don the  country  and  leave  its  people  to  the  mercies  of 
Germany.  America  is  sincerely  interested  in  Russia  and 
in  the  freedom  of  the  Russian  people.  We  shall  do  all 
possible  to  promote  the  true  interests  of  the  Russians 
and  to  protect  and  preserve  the  integrity  of  this  great 
country.  The  friendship  between  Russia  and  the  United 
States  which  has  existed  for  a  century  or  more  should 


232    RUSSIA  FROM  THE  AMERICAN  EMBASSY 

be  augmented  rather  than  impaired  by  Russia  becoming 
a  Republic,  and  all  Americans  are  sincerely  desirous  that 
Russians  should  be  permitted  to  continue  free  and  inde- 
pendent and  not  become  subjects  of  Germany. 

"I  have  not  yet  seen  an  authentic  copy  of  the  peace 
treaty  but  am  sufficiently  acquainted  with  its  provisions 
to  know  that  if  the  Russian  people  submit  thereto  Russia 
will  not  only  be  robbed  of  vast  acres  of  her  rich  territory 
but  will  eventually  become  virtually  a  German  province 
and  her  people  will  lose  the  liberties  for  which  their 
ancestors  have  struggled  and  sacrificed  for  generations 
past.  My  Government  still  considers  America  an  ally 
of  the  Russian  people,  who  surely  will  not  reject  the 
proffered  assistance  which  we  shall  be  prompt  to  render 
to  any  power  in  Russia  that  will  offer  sincere  and  organ- 
ized resistance  to  the  German  invasion.  If  the  Russian 
people  who  are  brave  and  patriotic  will  hold  in  abeyance 
for  the  time  being  their  political  differences  and  be  reso- 
lute and  firm  and  united  they  can  drive  the  enemy  from 
their  borders  and  secure  before  the  end  of  1918  for  them- 
selves and  the  world  an  enduring  peace." 

I  issued  the  above  address  to  the  Russian  people.  I 
appealed  to  them  to  organize  and  repel  the  Germans.  I 
said  we  Americans  and  our  Government  still  considered 
the  Russian  people  our  allies,  that  we  were  not  going  to 
observe  the  peace. 

About  four  days  after  this  appeared,  Kuehlman,  the 
German  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs,  made  a  demand  on 
the  Bolshevik  Government  that  I  be  sent  out  of  Russia. 
The  German  demand  said : 

"He  is  not  only  violating  the  laws  of  neutrality,  but 
he  has  issued  an  address  to  the  Russian  people  which  is 
a  virtual  call  to  arms. ' ' 

The  Bolsheviks  said  nothing  to  me  about  this  demand 
of  the  German  Government.  I  was  not  in  communication 
with  them  at  the  time.  I  learned,  however,  that  their 


THE  BREST-L1TOVSK  PEACE  233 

reply  to  Kuehlman  was  to  the  effect  that  I  had  not  said 
any  more  than  President  Wilson  had  said  in  his  message 
to  the  Bolshevik  Congress. 

Kuehlman,  in  conversation  with  Karahan,  Secretary 
of  the  Russian  Peace  Delegation  at  Brest  in  February, 
had  said  that  the  Foreign  Embassies  would  have  to  leave 
Petrograd  on  short  notice  from  the  Germans.  One  of 
the  reports  which  reached  us  at  the  time  was  that  the 
Allied  Missions  might  be  arrested.  It  was  even  rumored 
that  the  American  Ambassador  might  be  made  a  prisoner 
by  the  Germans  and  held  to  be  exchanged  for  the  German 
ship,  The  Vaterland,  then  held  in  New  York  harbor. 
There  were  German  officers  in  Petrograd  at  the  time. 
One  of  them  shot  and  killed  two  Russian  soldiers  at  the 
Grand  Hotel  "for  being  rude  to  him,"  as  the  report  made 
to  the  Bolshevik  officers  stated. 

At  this  time  cable  communication  with  my  Government 
was  severed;  it  had  been  very  unreliable  and  irregular 
since  the  Bolsheviks  came  into  power.  I  had  no  author- 
ity from  my  Government  to  make  the  foregoing  address 
to  the  Russian  people,  but  assumed  the  responsibility, 
advising  the  Department  of  State  of  the  exact  wording  of 
this  appeal  to  the  Russian  people.  I  did  not  learn  until 
two  months  later  that  the  Department  of  State  approved 
of  this  address,  and  then  I  was  informed  only  through 
a  newspaper  clipping  sent  to  me  by  Ira  Nelson  Morris, 
American  Minister  to  Stockholm.  That  newspaper  clip- 
ping stated  the  Associated  Press  correspondent  in  Wash- 
ington had  called  at  the  Department  of  State  and  in- 
quired whether  the  address  I  had  issued  to  the  Russian 
people  had  been  authorized  by  my  government.  The  re- 
ply, according  to  the  clipping,  was :  "No,  but  it  was  thor- 
oughly approved." 


CHAPTER  XVII 
VOLOGDA— THE  DIPLOMATIC  CAPITAL 

I  HAD  received  authority  from  my  government  to  leave 
Petrograd  whenever  my  judgment  so  dictated,  and  all  of 
my  colleagues  had  received  similar  authority  from  their 
governments.  We  were  meeting  in  the  American  Em- 
bassy daily,  not  all  of  the  Allied  Chiefs,  but  the  British, 
the  French,  the  Italian  and  the  Japanese  Ambassadors. 
The  Germans  were  approaching  Petrograd.  The  Bol- 
shevik Government  was  preparing  to  move  to  Moscow. 
I  had  remained  some  four  weeks  after  receiving  instruc- 
tions to  act  upon  my  ov/n  discretion  about  leaving  Petro- 
grad. At  one  of  these  conferences  of  the  Ambassadors 
toward  the  end  of  February,  1918,  we  decided  that  the 
time  had  come  to  leave.  I  said  to  them :  "I  am  not  going 
out  of  Russia." 

" Where  are  you  going?'*  one  of  them  asked. 

"I  am  going  to  Vologda,"  I  said. 

"What  do  you  know  about  Vologda?" 

"Not  a  thing  except  that  it  is  the  junction  of  the 
Trans-Siberian  Railway  and  the  Moscow-Archangel 
Railway  and  that  it  is  350  miles  farther  away  from  the 
Germans." 

"Well,  if  it  is  unsafe  there,  what  are  you  going  to  do!" 

"I  am  going  east  to  Viatka,  which  is  600  miles  east, 
and  if  it  is  unsafe  there,  I  am  going  to  Perm.  If  it  is 
unsafe  at  Perm,  I  am  going  to  Irkutsk,  and  if  it  is  still 
unsafe,  I  am  going  to  Chita,  and  if  necessary  from  there 

I  am  going  to  Vladivostok,  where  I  will  be  protected 

234 


VOLOGDA— THE  DIPLOMATIC  CAPITAL    235 

by  an  American  man-of-war,  the  Brooklyn,  under 
Admiral  Knight. ' ' 

We  discussed  the  situation,  and  I  told  my  colleagues : 

"You  ought  not  to  leave  Eussia  now." 

They  wanted  to  get  out  of  Eussia  and  return  to  their 
own  countries.  All  of  them  declined  to  join  me  in  my 
plan  except  the  Japanese  Embassy  and  the  Chinese 
Legation.  They  were  willing  to  go  to  Vologda,  which 
would  be  on  their  way  home. 

The  other  missions  attempted  to  get  away  by  going 
west.  The  British,  French,  Italians,  Belgians,  Serbians, 
Portuguese  and  the  Greeks  left  on  trains,  attempting  to 
go  through  Finland.  They  found  themselves  in  the  midst 
of  civil  war  between  the  Bolshevik  element  and  the  Bour- 
geoisie. The  Bolsheviks  had  occupied  Helsingf ors.  After 
considerable  negotiation  it  was  arranged  that  these  Allied 
Missions  be  permitted  to  go  through  the  lines,  but  through 
some  misunderstanding  the  British  Embassy  in  its  spe- 
cial train  was  the  only  mission  that  got  through.  The 
lines  were  again  closed  and  the  remaining  six  missions 
were  left  on  the  Eed  Guard  side  of  Finland.  After  re- 
maining several  weeks  on  their  special  trains,  some  of 
them  were  instructed  by  their  respective  governments 
to  return  to  Eussia,  which  they  did  and  joined  me  at 
Vologda.  The  French,  Italian  and  Serbians  arrived 
first,  and  the  Belgians  about  a  week  later.  They  lived 
in  cars  on  the  tracks  at  the  railway  station  for  some  time. 

Having  discretionary  authority  to  leave  Petrograd 
the  natural  thing,  perhaps,  for  me  to  do  was  to  have 
gone  with  the  other  missions  and  stopped  in  Norway  or 
Sweden  for  orders  from  Washington,  but  I  did  not  like 
to  abandon  the  Bussian  people,  for  whom  I  felt  deep 
sympathy  and  whom  I  had  assured  repeatedly  of 
America's  unselfish  interest  in  their  welfare. 


Just  before  leaving  Petrograd,  I  wrote  my  son  Charles, 
under  date  of  February  23rd,  1918: 

"  .  .  .  My  plan  is  to  stay  in  Russia  as  long  as  I  can. 
If  a  separate  peace  is  concluded,  as  I  believe  it  will  be, 
there  will  be  no  danger  of  my  being  captured  by  the 
Germans.  Such  a  separate  peace,  however,  will  be  a 
severe  blow  to  the  Allies,  and  if  any  section  of  Russia 
refuses  to  recognize  the  authority  of  the  Bolshevik  Gov- 
ernment to  conclude  such  a  peace  I  shall  endeavor  to 
locate  in  that  section  and  encourage  the  rebellion.  If 
no  section  is  opposed  to  same  I  shall  go  to  Vladivostok 
and  endeavor  from  there  to  prevent  supplies  from  fall- 
ing into  the  hands  of  the  Germans,  and  if  there  are  any 
people  organizing  in  Russia  for  armed  resistance  to 
Germany,  I  shall  encourage  them  and  recommend  our 
Government  to  assist  them.  You  may  not  conclude, 
therefore,  that  I  am  planning  to  return  to  America." 

I  left  Petrograd  on  the  morning  of  February  27th,  and 
arrived  at  Vologda  about  twenty-six  hours  later.  The 
railroad  connections  offered  the  main  reason  for  the 
selection  of  this  stopping  place,  notwithstanding  my  in- 
formation was  to  the  effect  that  the  Bolshevik  spirit  in 
Vologda  was  deep-rooted  and  widespread.  I  lived  near- 
ly a  week  on  the  train,  which  was  very  much  crowded 
with  the  Embassy  staff  and  the  military  mission.  After 
being  in  Vologda  two  days,  I  cabled  the  Department  I  had 
concluded  to  remain  as  long  as  it  was  safe.  To  this  con- 
clusion I  was  encouraged  by  the  local  treatment  received. 
The  Mayor,  the  President  of  the  City  Duma,  the  Presi- 
dent of  the  local  Soviet  and  the  local  representatives  of 
the  Central  Soviet  at  Moscow  called  upon  me.  Although 
I  had  never  had  any  official  relation  with  the  Soviet  or 
Bolshevik  government  because  the  United  States  had 
not  recognized  the  Bolsheviks,  these  local  officers  were 
very  courteous  and  accommodating.  They  offered  me 


VOLOGDA— THE  DIPLOMATIC  CAPITAL    237 

the  use  of  a  club  house,  a  commodious  and  an  imposing 
structure,  for  the  American  Embassy.  I  accepted  and 
began  living  there  and  conducting  the  chancellery  therein 
from  March  4th.  I  inaugurated  the  custom  of  giving 
a  tea  every  Saturday  afternoon  to  which  the  officials 
mentioned,  my  colleagues  and  their  families  and  the  sta- 
tionmaster  were  invited.  In  an  after-dinner  speech 
made  by  me  when  I  was  a  guest  of  the  Mayor,  I  desig- 
nated Vologda  as  "the  diplomatic  capital  of  Russia." 
The  Russians  present  seemed  very  much  pleased  when 
this  was  translated  to  them. 

This  action  taken  by  me  in  selecting  Vologda  and  re- 
maining there  was  rather  unique  in  diplomatic  history. 
I  recall  that  the  French  Ambassador  to  the  United 
States,  Jusserand,  when  I  met  him  in  Paris,  during  the 
peace  negotiations,  referred  to  it  and  commented.  He 
said,  "You  discovered  Vologda.  You  put  it  on  the  map. 
You  made  it  the  diplomatic  center  of  Russia  for  five  or 
six  months. " 

Vologda  was  founded  1147  A.  D.,  or  about  345  years 
before  Columbus  discovered  America.  It  is  the  great  or 
one  of  the  great  lace  centers  of  Russia.  Some  very  fine 
samples  of  lace  are  to  be  had  there.  I  am  told  they  are 
all  handmade  and  of  very  fine  linen. 

After  becoming  settled  at  Vologda,  I  told  in  a  private 
letter  to  one  of  my  sons  of  the  gradual  development  of 
friendly  relations.  The  letter  was  dated  March  19th: 

'  *  ...  I  have  never  recognized  this  Bolshevik  Govern- 
ment, but  have  established  a  quasi  business  or  working 
arrangement  with  it,  and  to  that  do  I  attribute  the 
courtesy  shown  us  by  the  municipal  authorities  and  by 
the  local  Commissar  and  by  the  President  of  the  local 
Soviet.  There  are  local  Soviets  throughout  Russia  com- 
posed of  workmen,  soldiers  and  peasants;  they  assume 
and  exercise  the  right  to  commandeer  whatever  resi- 


238    RUSSIA  FROM  THE  AMERICAN  EMBASSY 

dences  they  desire  to  live  in,  ordering  the  owners  or 
occupants  therefrom.  There  has  been  no  violence  here 
that  I  have  heard  of;  in  fact  the  town  is  remarkably 
quiet  and  I  have  enjoyed  my  stay  here,  being  domiciled 
in  the  club  house,  very  well  adapted  to  the  Embassy's 
uses.  Last  night  I  entertained  the  local  Commissar,  the 
Mayor,  President  of  the  Local  Soviet,  President  of  the 
City  Duma,  and  five  other  officials,  at  a  dinner  in  the 
club  house,  which  has  become  known  through  the  town 
as  the  American  Embassy." 

At  one  time  I  spoke  to  the  Mayor  about  his  affiliations. 
I  asked  him  if  he  was  a  Bolshevik.  He  said  he  was  not 
a  Bolshevik,  and  that  he  was  authorized  by  the  munic- 
ipal assembly — as  we  would  call  it  in  the  United  States — 
to  invite  us  to  remain  there ;  that  we  would  be  protected. 
He  continued  to  administer  affairs  until  we  left  Vologda; 
although  the  local  Soviet  was  disposed  to  dispute  his 
authority  some  time  before  we  left. 

On  May  5th,  1918, 1  was  shocked  to  hear  that  Consul- 
General  Madden  Summers  had  died  the  day  before  after 
an  illness  of  twenty-four  hours.  I  had  not  yet  regained 
my  strength  from  ten  days'  illness  and  was  still  on  diet, 
but  I  decided  to  go  to  Moscow  and  did  so  on  the  first 
train.  At  the  funeral  I  delivered  an  address  in  which 
I  endeavored  to  bring  out  the  significance  of  Summers' 
splendid  work,  to  emphasize  his  record  as  a  faithful,  effi- 
cient representative  of  his  country.  In  the  course  of 
this  address  I  said: 

"He  who  gives  his  life  for  a  cause  can  contribute  no 
more.  Whether  such  tribute  be  rendered  on  sea  or  on 
land  or  in  the  clouds,  whether  it  be  at  the  cannon  'a  mouth 
or  in  defense  against  an  assault  or  even  by  some  of  the 
other  horrible  devices  of  modern  warfare,  whether  it  be 
in  military  or  civil  service,  none  the  less,  he  has  given 
his  all  and  no  man  can  make  greater  sacrifice  than  this. 


VOLOGDA— THE  DIPLOMATIC  CAPITAL    239 

Madden  Summers  yielded  his  life  in  his  country's  service 
and  did  so  as  effectually  as  if  he  had  been  taken  off  by 
the  enemy  in  ambush  and  as  courageously  as  if  he  had 
fallen  in  attack  on  the  enemy's  works.  He  realized  as 
fully  as  does  an  officer  leading  his  troops  in  a  battle  that 
his  very  life  was  in  -jeopardy  and  that  realization  nerved 
him  to  renewed  effort." 

On  the  4th  of  July,  1918, 1  gave  a  reception  which  was 
attended  by  the  members  of  the  Diplomatic  Corps  then 
in  Vologda,  all  of  the  attaches  of  the  Allied  Missions, 
and  by  quite  a  number  of  Russians.  The  Mayor  was 
present — nominally  Bolshevik,  but  at  heart  "anti."  He 
had  been  elected  by  a  direct  vote  of  the  people  before 
the  Bolshevik  regime-  The  assistant  mayor,  Mr.  Zu- 
boff,  a  Cadet,  was  present.  Both  the  mayor  and  the 
assistant  mayor  had  been  suspended  from  office  the  week 
before  by  a  representative  of  the  Bolshevik  Government 
at  Moscow,  named  Kedroff.  The  latter,  after  arresting 
and  sending  to  Moscow  the  City  Duma  of  Archangel, 
stopped  at  Vologda  on  his  return  and  had  placed  a  local 
Bolshevik  "in  the  saddle"  of  municipal  affairs. 

I  made  this  Fourth  of  July  reception  the  occasion  of 
an  address  to  the  Russian  people,  which  was  published 
in  the  Vologda  paper,  Listok.  I  ordered  50,000  copies 
printed  in  Eussian  circular  form,  for  general  distribu- 
tion. 

At  this  time  the  Bolshevik  Government  at  Moscow  had 
a  representative  at  Vologda  in  the  person  of  Vosne- 
senski,  who  occupied  the  position  of  Chief  of  the  Far 
Eastern  Division  in  the  Ministry  of  Foreign  Affairs. 
Vosnesenski  was  a  shrewd  Jew.  He  had,  as  we  used  to 
express  it  in  Kentucky  immediately  after  the  Civil  War, 
"the  cheek  of  a  government  mule."  He  had  been  sent 
to  Vologda  by  the  Bolsheviks  to  ascertain  whether  the 
Allies  had  concluded  in  principle  to  intervene,  but  he  got 


240    RUSSIA  FROM  THE  AMERICAN  EMBASSY 

no  satisfaction  from  me,  and  I  do  not  think  he  received 
any  definite  information  from  any  of  my  colleagues. 

There  were  at  this  time  many  rumors  afloat  concern- 
ing the  advance  of  the  Allied  detachments.  We  had 
authentic  reports  to  the  effect  that  the  landing  of  the 
Allied  forces  would  be  resisted  by  Bolsheviks  at  Arch- 
angel. Those  forces  were,  as  we  knew,  in  possession 
at  Murmansk,  and  the  local  Soviet  there  was  friendly 
to  the  Allies,  because  it  had  seen  what  had  been  evident 
to  the  Allied  representatives  at  Vologda  for  some  time, 
that  the  Bolshevik  Government  was  absolutely  under  the 
domination  of  Germany.  At  the  same  time  the  Bolshe- 
viks at  Moscow  were  manifesting  a  strong  desire  to  ap- 
pear on  good  terms  with  the  Allied  missions,  and  espe- 
cially the  American  Embassy. 

The  Fourth  of  July  address  to  the  Russian  people 
follows : 

1  'On  this  July  4th,  the  natal  day  of  the  American  Re- 
public, I  feel  constrained  to  say  a  few  words  of  encour- 
agement to  the  Russian  people  for  whom  my  country 
cherishes  deep  sympathy.  One  hundred  and  forty-two 
years  ago  to-day  the  thirteen  American  Colonies  pro- 
claimed their  independence;  they  had  a  population  of 
about  three  million  souls  occupying  a  narrow  strip  along 
the  Atlantic  seacoast.  After  a  struggle  of  seven  years 
their  independence  was  acknowledged;  then  followed  a 
critical  period  of  internal  dissension  which  ended  in  the 
adoption  of  a  Constitution  and  the  formation  of  the 
Government  which  exists  to-day. 

''Americans  throughout  the  world  celebrate  this  day 
in  commemoration  of  the  achievements  of  our  ancestors, 
to  express  our  pride  in  our  institutions,  to  renew  our 
pledges  of  fealty  to  the  principles  on  which  our  Govern- 
ment is  based  and  to  inspire  our  descendants  with  love 
of  country  and  with  appreciation  of  the  liberty  they 
enjoy. 

"France  assisted  us  to  gain  our  independence  and  we 


VOLOGDA— THE  DIPLOMATIC  CAPITAL    241 

have  always  felt  sincerely  grateful  therefor — and  I  am 
pleased  to  note  that  the  French  Chamber  of  Deputies  has 
decided  to  observe  the  day  in  testimony  of  'indissoluble 
V  and  fraternal  friendship.' 

"The  Father  of  our  Country  warned  us  against  en- 
tangling foreign  alliances  and  we  observed  that  injunc- 
tion for  a  hundred  and  forty  years,  or  as  long  as  our 
self-respect,  our  sense  of  duty  and  our  obligations  to 
humanity  permitted.  We  were  much  farther  removed 
from  Europe  when  our  independence  was  achieved  than 
we  are  to-day;  the  application  of  steam  as  a  motive 
power  had  not  then  been  discovered,  there  were  no  ocean 
steamers,  no  steam  railroads;  there  were  no  telegraph 
lines,  no  telephones,  no  machine  guns,  no  aeroplanes,  no 
submarines. 

"Within  that  period  our  population  has  grown  by 
rapid  strides  until  it  now  numbers  considerably  over  one 
hundred  millions,  and  many  millions  of  the  increase  have 
come  from  European  lands. 

"We  are  engaged  in  the  greatest  war  of  history — a 
world  war  in  fact — and  so  earnestly  have  we  taken  part 
that  the  spirit  of  our  people  is  aroused  as  never  before. 
We  have  not  the  slightest  doubt  as  to  the  outcome.  Rus- 
sia is  interested  in  this  war  as  no  other  country  is  inter- 
ested because  she  will  lose  most  in  the  event  of  the  vic- 
tory of  the  Central  Empires.  My  country  and  all  of  the 
Allies  consider  the  Russian  people  still  in  the  struggle. 
We  do  not  observe  the  Brest-Litovsk  peace.  Surely  no 
Russian  who  loves  his  country  and  looks  with  pride 
upon  her  greatness  is  going  to  submit  tamely  to  her  dis- 
memberment and  humiliation. 

1 '  President  Wilson  has  said  feelingly  and  impressively 
on  several  occasion  that  he  has  no  intention  of  deserting 
Russia,  in  fact  that  he  is  resolved  not  to  do  so.  That 
means  that  we  will  never  consent  to  Germany  making 
Russia  a  German  province;  that  we  will  never  stand 
idly  by  and  see  the  Germans  exploit  the  Russian  people 
and  appropriate  to  Germany's  selfish  ends  the  immense 
resources  of  Russia.  We  take  this  stand  not  because 
we  ourselves  seek  territorial  aggrandizement;  not  be- 
cause we  have  commercial  ambitions  in  connection  with 


242    RUSSIA  FROM  THE  AMERICAN  EMBASSY 

Russia;  nor  because  we  wish  to  dictate  to  the  Russian 
people  or  to  interfere  in  the  internal  affairs  of  Russia. 
We  assume  this  position  because  we  wish  the  Russian 
people  to  have  the  right  to  dispose  of  themselves  and  not 
be  compelled  to  submit  to  the  tyrannical  rule  of  Ger- 
many, even  though  such  a  disposition  might  result  in  a 
temporary  peace.  It  is  moreover  my  opinion  that  all  of 
the  Allies  agree  with  America  on  this  subject. 

"Therefore,  on  this  day,  which  is  celebrated  in  every 
city,  in  every  village  and  in  every  hamlet  in  America, 
I  appeal  to  the  Russian  people  to  take  courage,  to  or- 
ganize to  resist  the  encroachments  of  Germany.  The 
Allies  are  your  friends  and  are  willing  and  able  to  assist 
you  notwithstanding  your  superb  army  has  been  demo- 
bilized. The  United  States,  which  had  an  army  of  about 
two  hundred  thousand  when  we  entered  the  war  less  than 
fifteen  months  ago,  has  already  sent  to  France  nine  hun- 
dred thousand  well-armed,  disciplined  men  and  is  mak- 
ing rapid  progress  toward  raising  an  army  of  five  mil- 
lion. The  strength  of  the  American  Navy  and  of  tho 
American  shipping  has  been  increased  many  fold  and 
is  continuing  to  grow  at  a  wonderful  rate  which  exceeds 
all  calculations  and  expectations.  There  is  not  a  craft 
on  the  broad  seas  that  dares  float  the  German  flag  or  the 
colors  of  one  of  the  Central  Empires. 

"  On  May  29th,  last,  my  Government  authorized  its 
representatives  throughout  the  world  to  express  its  sym- 
pathy with  the  nationalistic  aspirations  of  the  Czecho- 
slovaks and  Jugo-Slavs,  and  within  three  days  past  I 
have  received  instructions  to  announce  that  the  position 
of  the  United  States  Government  is  'that  all  branches 
of  the  Slav  race  should  be  completely  freed  from  German 
and  Austrian  rule.' 

"What  an  inspiration  this  should  be  to  Russians !" 

When  my  appeal  to  the  Russian  people  reached  Ber- 
lin, the  German  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs  again  de- 
manded my  deportation,  on  the  same  ground  he  had 
previously  urged,  that  I  had  not  only  violated  the  rules 
of  neutrality  but  had  criticized  the  Central  Soviet  Gov- 


VOLOGDA— THE  DIPLOMATIC  CAPITAL    243 

eminent  of  the  Republic.     I  do  not  know  what  reply 
was  made  to  this  by  the  Bolsheviks. 

At  the  same  time  I  made  my  Fourth  of  July  appeal 
to  the  Eussian  people  to  resist  the  Germans,  conditions 
in  Russia  favored  it.  The  time  was  opportune  for  action. 
Prompt  and  decisive  intervention  by  the  Allied  Powers 
might  have  had  far-reaching  results.  I  received  from  a 
reliable  source  this  account  of  what  was  going  on  at 
Moscow: 

"The  Fifth  All-Russian  Congress  of  the  Soviets 
opened  on  the  4th  of  July  at  the  Grand  Theater  in  Mos- 
cow. Strict  measures  were  taken  not  to  allow  anybody 
without  special  permit  to  enter  the  theater.  The  Grand 
Duke's  box  on  the  left  side  of  the  theater  was  occupied 
by  representatives  of  the  German  Embassy  with  the 
Counselor  von  Bassovitz  at  the  head.  The  President  of 
the  Central  Executive  Committee,  Sverloff,  announced 
the  Congress  opened  at  5  p.  m.,  and  stated  that  up  to  that 
moment  1,035  deputies  had  arrived,  of  whom  678  be- 
longed to  the  Bolshevik  party;  269  to  the  party  of  the 
Left  Social  Revolutionists;  about  30  Maximalists,  and 
about  six  Internationalists.  The  floor  was  given  to  Alex- 
androff,  delegate  of  the  Ukrainian  Peasants'  Congress. 
His  appearance  on  the  platform  was  met  with  loud  ap- 
plause. He  said: 

"  'We  have  (in  Ukrainia)  against  us  the  overwhelming 
power  of  German  bayonets.  We  have  no  more  profes- 
sional Unions,  no  Cooperatives,  and  no  Workmen's 
Clubs.  The  regulation  respecting  the  eight-hour  day 
has  been  annulled  (shame,  shame).  When  the  Ukrainian 
Rada  opened  the  doors  to  Germany  (traitors)  we  lost 
even  that  which  we  gained  by  the  February  revolution. 
Germans  are  destroying  with  artillery  fire  whole  vil- 
lages, people  are  executed  without  trial. ' 

"  'But,'  exclaims  Alexandroff,  'the  Ukrainian  prole- 
tariat are  not  giving  up  their  struggle  with  their  enemy. 
Peasants  refuse  to  give  Germany  grain.  Trains  loaded 
with  grain  for  Germany  are  blown  up  by  us.  Practically 


244   RUSSIA  FROM  THE  AMERICAN  EMBASSY 

all  stores  of  munitions  have  been  blown  up  by  us.  The 
aeroplane  works  in  Odessa  were  set  on  fire.  The  Ukrainia 
is  on  the  verge  of  rising  against  Austro-Germany. ' 

"These  words  of  Alexandroff  were  met  with  continu- 
ous applause.  The  Left  Social  Revolutionists,  standing 
up  from  their  seats  and  turning  in  the  direction  of  the 
box  occupied  by  von  Bassovitz  shouted,  'down  with  the 
Germans.'  Movement  in  the  box  could  be  noticed. 

"  'I  implore  you,7  continued  Alexandroff,  'to  come  to 
our  assistance.'  Shouts  again:  'Down  with  the  Ger- 
mans ! ' 

"  'I  want  you  to  reply  with  yes  or  no.  We  are  confi- 
dent that  you  will  come,'  continued  Alexandroff,  'and 
the  sooner  you  come  will  our  Baron  von  Mumm  be  driven 
out  from  the  Ukrainia,  as  well  as  your  Baron  von 
Mumm,  Count  Mirbach,  will  be  driven  out  by  you  from 
Moscow. '  Stormy  applause : '  Down  with  Mirbach !  Down 
with  the  Germans!' 

' '  After  a  speech  by  Karelin,  a  Left  Social  Revolution- 
ist, protesting  against  capital  punishment,  and  his  sec- 
ond speech  disclosing  forgeries  practised  by  the  party  of 
Bolsheviks  during  the  election  in  order  to  insure  their 
majority  at  this  Congress,  the  floor  was  given  to  Trotzky. 

"Trotzky  stated  that  some  agitators  have  resumed 
their  work  against  the  Soviet  Government  in  different 
parts  of  the  front  line.  Under  the  influence  of  these 
agitators,  several  Red  Army  detachments  have  crossed 
the  demarcation  line.  Several  commissars  have  been 
murdered,  and  the  President  of  the  Bolshevik  Peace 
Delegation  to  the  Ukrainia,  Rakoffsky,  was  threatened 
with  a  bomb.  'If  you  will  ask  me  who  are  these  agi- 
tators, I  say  that  I  do  not  know,  but  presume  that  among 
them  are  Right  Social  Revolutionists,  agents  of  the  Ger- 
man war  party,  as  well  as  agents  of  those  that  landed 
troops  on  the  White  Sea  coast.' 

"Trotzky  further  stated  that  he  had  given  orders  that 
agitators  belonging  to  parties  that  want  Russia  to  be 
drawn  into  war  by  provoking  Germany  to  occupy  Moscow 
and  Petrograd  should  be  sent  to  prison  in  Moscow  and 
Petrograd.  Agents  of  foreign  governments  who  resist 
the  government  with  arms  in  their  hands  should  be  shot 


VOLOGDA— THE  DIPLOMATIC  CAPITAL    245 

on  the  spot.     Trotzky  requested  the  congress  to  give 
sanction  of  this,  his  order. 

"Kumkoff,  a  Left  Social  Revolutionist  Deputy,  reply- 
ing to  Trotzky,  stated  that  the  latter  had  misrepresented 
the  actual  facts.  That  the  events  referred  to  were  not 
perpetrated  by  agitators,  but  were  an  actual  result  of  a 
policy  of  national  treason  favored  by  the  Bolsheviks; 
that  the  men  at  the  front  cannot  be  silent  spectators  of 
workmen  and  soldiers  being  shot  by  German  imperial- 
ists; that  they  do  not  want  to  take  any  part  in  these 
deeds  of  Cain,  and  mean  to  fight  the  scoundrels  which 
have  also  come  here.  Kumkoff  pointed  to  the  box  oc- 
cupied by  German  representatives.  Shouts,  'down  with 
Mirbach!'" 

On  the  6th  of  July,  two  days  later,  the  German  Am- 
bassador to  Russia,  Count  Mirbach,  was  assassinated  in 
Moscow.  An  official  statement  issued  by  the  Bolshevik 
Government  said: 

1 '  Two  scoundrels,  agents  of  Russian- Anglo-French  Im- 
perialism, having  forged  the  signature  of  Dzerjinsky, 
sneaked  through  to  the  German  Ambassador,  Count  Mir- 
bach, under  a  false  certificate,  and,  under  the  protection 
of  this  document,  they  threw  a  bomb,  killing  Count 
Mirbach. ' ' 

The  Bolsheviks  attributed  the  assassination  to  the 
Russian  Monarchists  and  Counter-Revolutionists.  They 
claimed  to  have  identified  one  of  the  assassins  as  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Left  Social  Revolutionists  Party. 

About  four  or  five  days  after  this  assassination  of 
Count  Mirbach,  Tchecherin,  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs 
of  the  Bolshevik  Government  at  Moscow,  sent  me  a  tele- 
gram marked  "urgent,"  addressing  me  as  Dean  of  the 
Diplomatic  Corps,  and  saying: 

"Taking  into  consideration  the  present  situation  and 
possibility  of  danger  for  representatives  of  Entente 
powers  Soviet  Government  looks  upon  Moscow  as  town 


246    RUSSIA  FROM  THE  AMERICAN  EMBASSY 

where  security  of  named  representatives  can  be  assured. 
Considering  as  its  duty  safeguarding  ambassadors'  se- 
curity Government  sees  in  their  coming  to  Moscow  a 
necessity.  We  hope  that  highly  esteemed  American  Am- 
bassador will  appreciate  this  step  in  friendly  spirit  in 
which  it  is  undertaken.  In  order  to  execute  this  measure 
and  to  remove  any  difficulties  People's  Commissariat  for 
Foreign  Affairs  delegates  to  Vologda  as  its  representa- 
tive, Citizen  Radek. ' ' 

To  this  I  made  immediate  reply,  hoping  to  forestall  the 
coming  of  Radek: 

"Immediately  on  receiving  your  urgent  message  last 
midnight,  I  called  a  meeting  of  the  Chiefs  of  Allied  Mis- 
sions, as  their  Dean.  I  am  requested  by  them  to  ask 
you  why  you  think  our  remaining  in  Vologda  unsafe  or 
inadvisable.  We  have  no  fear  of  the  Russian  people, 
whom  we  have  always  befriended  and  whom  we  consider 
our  Allies,  and  we  have  full  confidence  in  the  population 
of  Vologda.  Our  only  anxiety  is  concerning  the  forces 
of  the  Central  Empires  with  whom  we  are  at  war  and, 
in  our  judgment,  they  are  much  more  likely  to  capture 
Moscow  than  Vologda.  We  realize  that  in  a  country 
suffering  as  Russia  is  at  present  there  are  unreasonable 
and  desperate  men,  but  we  are  confident  that  they  are 
not  more  dangerous  at  Vologda  than  elsewhere.  At  Mos- 
cow, on  the  other  hand,  we  hear  that  the  Germans  have 
already  received  permission  to  introduce  their  troops  to 
safeguard  their  representatives,  and  in  any  case  the  town 
is  directly  threatened  by  the  Germans.  If  you  mean  by 
your  message  that  the  government  of  Soviets  has  taken 
without  consulting  the  Allied  Missions  the  decision  that 
the  latter  should  come  to  Moscow  and  that  you  are  send- 
ing Mr.  Radek  to  carry  such  a  decision  into  execution, 
we  desire  to  inform  you  that  we  consider  that  would  be 
offensive  to  us  and  we  would  not  comply  therewith." 

Radek  arrived  the  next  day  and  about  3  p.  m.  inquired 
at  what  time  I  could  receive  him,  and  was  told  at  four 
o'clock  new  time.  Radek  did  not  call  until  after  five 


VOLOGDA— THE  DIPLOMATIC  CAPITAL    247 

o'clock,  when  the  Allied  Diplomats  were  in  session  at 
the  American  Embassy.    Leaving  my  colleagues  in  ses- 
sion I  went  to  the  reception  room  of  the  Embassy,  and, 
after  hearing  from  Eadek  that  the  object  of  his  mission 
was  to  arrange  for  the  removal  of  the  Allied  Missions 
from  Vologda  to  Moscow,  I  told  him  that  such  an  invita- 
tion had  already  been  received  by  wire  from  Tchecherin 
and  had  been  declined  by  wire.    He  disclaimed  any  in- 
tention on  the  part  of  the  Soviet  Government  of  forcing 
the  Allied  Missions  to  remove  from  Vologda  to  Moscow, 
but  after  mentioning  the  responsibility  of  the  Soviets  for 
the  safety  of  the  Allied  representatives,  stated  that  if 
this  declination  would  be  persisted  in  he  would  demand 
a  statement  in  writing  from  the  Allied  representatives 
absolving  the  Soviet  Government  from  all  responsibility 
for  their  safety.     I  said  to  Eadek  that  as  the  Allied 
Chiefs  were  in  session  in  the  American  Embassy  at  that 
moment,  perhaps  he  should  himself  make  this  statement 
to  them.    I  returned  to  the  Allied  conference  and  re- 
ported the  interview  with  Eadek.    The  Allied  represen- 
tatives decided  that  I,  as  the  Dean,  should  state  to  Radek 
that  they  stood  upon  their  reply  made  by  wire  to  Tche- 
cherin until  authoritatively  advised  as  to  the  demands 
of  Germany  consequent  upon  the  killing  of  Mirbach, 
having  heard  by  wire  from  Moscow  that  armed  Germans 
and  Austrians  were  guarding  the  embassies  and  con- 
sulates of  the  Central  Empires  in  Moscow.    The  Allied 
Conference  thereupon  adjourned. 

I  returned  to  the  reception  room  and  had  a  talk  with 
Eadek  lasting  about  an  hour.  Eadek  was  accompanied 
by  an  interpreter,  Arthur  Eansome,  the  correspondent 
of  the  Manchester  Guardian.  I  called  my  stenog- 
rapher, Mr.  Johnston,  who  was  also  my  private  secre- 
tary, and  he  took  down  the  conversation.  I  told  Eadek, 
after  listening  to  his  argument,  that  we  had  decided  to 


248    RUSSIA  FROM  THE  AMERICAN  EMBASSY 

refuse  the  invitation  to  go  to  Moscow.  His  reply  was : 
"I  will  station  guards  around  all  of  your  embassies." 
They  called  all  of  our  legations  embassies.  "And  no  one 
will  be  permitted  to  go  in  or  out  without  a  passport." 
I  said:  "We  are  virtually  prisoners  then?"  "No,"  he 
said,  "you  are  not  virtually  prisoners,  you  can  go  in  ar.d 
out  and  the  chiefs  can  all  go  in  and  out,  but  when  you 
desire  anybody  to  come  in  here,  you  will  have  to  tell  the 
local  Soviet  the  name  of  the  man  and  they  will  give  him 
a  pass  to  enter  through  your  guards." 

The  guards  came  there  the  next  morning,  or  perhaps 
the  same  evening,  but  they  did  not  disturb  us.  They 
were  hungry  and  we  gave  them  food.  They  were  very 
accommodating  to  us:  Radek  was  in  uniform,  and  car- 
ried a  pistol.  He  was  a  newspaper  man,  an  Austrian. 
He  was  intensely  devoted  to  the  Bolshevik  purpose  of  a 
world-wide  revolution.  I  understood  that  Lenin  and 
Trotzky  depended  upon  Radek  for  the  composition  of 
many  proclamations  which  they  signed.  After  the 
armistice,  Radek  went  to  Berlin,  and  was  active  in  the 
efforts  to  overturn  the  German  Government  and  in  the 
attempted  spread  of  Bolshevism  throughout  Germany. 

The  day  after  sending  the  decision  of  the  Allied  Mis- 
sions not  to  leave  Vologda,  I  received  from  Tchecheiin 
this  message,  marked  "Urgent": 

"Thanks  for  telegram.  You  are  obviously  badly  in- 
formed. It  is  absolutely  false  that  Germans  have  re- 
ceived permission  to  introduce  troops  at  Moscow.  This 
is  monstrous  distortion  of  true  situation.  How  is  it  that 
somebody  from  Moscow  deliberately  misrepresents  to 
you  our  policy  and  real  state  of  things  ?  When  you  will 
be  in  Moscow  no  intriguers  will  be  able  to  create  such 
trouble  between  us.  Moscow  is  not  threatened  by  Ger- 
mans. If  this  was  the  case,  we  would  at  once  warn  you 
and  take  steps  necessary  for  your  departure.  You  are 
insufficiently  informed  situation  Russia.  People  are  for 


VOLOGDA— THP:  DIPLOMATIC  CAPITAL    249 

us  but  conspiring  groups  like  that  which  acted  lately 
systematically  create  trouble.  Such  conspirators  pre- 
pare stroke.  Your  remaining  Vologda  impossible.  We 
have  responsibility  to  bear  we  cannot  otherwise.  Eadek 
goes  consult  you  first." 

I  replied  to  Tchecherin  as  follows : 

"I  have  received  your  telegram  in  response  to  mine 
which  was  sent  in  reply  to  your  first  telegram  concern- 
ing the  removal  of  the  Allied  Missions  from  Vologda  to 
Moscow.  Mr.  Eadek,  representative  of  the  Soviet  Gov- 
ernment, arrived  and  had  conference  with  me  before  the 
receipt  of  this  telegram.  He  informed  me  that  your  first 
telegram  was  intended  for  invitation  or  advice  to  the 
Allied  Missions  in  Vologda  and  not  a  command  or  a  de- 
cision to  be  enforced  by  him  as  your  representative. 
After  conferring  with  Mr.  Eadek  I  submitted  his  propo- 
sition to  the  Allied  Diplomatic  Corps,  which  decided  to 
stand  on  its  former  reply  and  to  decline  your  invitation 
to  come  to  Moscow  until  hearing  what  further  demands 
or  movements  Germany  is  likely  to  make  as  the  German 
press  and  many  prominent  Germans  charge  the  Allies 
with  inspiring,  planning  and  carrying  into  execution 
assassination  of  the  German  Ambassador,  Mirbach.  Mr. 
Eadek  when  informed  by  me  of  this  decision  demanded 
a  written  statement  from  the  Allied  Missions  that  we 
absolve  the  Soviet  Government  from  all  responsibility 
for  our  safety.  When  again  informed  that  the  Allied 
Missions  stand  on  their  reply  telegraphed  you  until  they 
learn  what  Germany  demands  or  proposes  to  do,  Mr. 
Eadek  stated  that  he  would  station  guards  around  every 
Allied  chancery  or  residence  in  Vologda  who  would  be 
instructed  to  admit  no  one  without  his  approval  or  purs, 
as  he  proposed  to  remain  in  Vologda  until  receiving 
further  instructions  from  you  or  the  Soviet  Government. 
While  we  have  not  asked  for  guards  and  would  appre- 
ciate guards  stationed  around  our  residences  and  chan- 
ceries solely  for  our  protection  we  look  upon  the  plan 
as  proposed  by  Mr.  Eadek  as  a  virtual  arrangement  to 
place  us  under  espionage  or  to  make  us  prisoners.  We 
I  trust  such  is  not  your  intention  j  if  it  is  we  protest  against 


250 

the  plan  proposed  by  Mr.  Radek  as  incompatible  with 
the  dignity  of  our  Governments. 

"Your  telegram  states  that  our  remaining  in  Vologda 
is  '  impossible. '  While  Mr.  Radek  disclaimed  any  inten- 
tion on  the  part  of  the  Soviet  Government  to  compel  us 
to  come  to  Moscow  your  telegram  fails  to  reply  to  that 
portion  of  my  message  to  you  based  upon  the  theory  that 
Mr.  Radek  has  been  sent  to  Vologda  to  carry  into  execu- 
tion a  decision  of  the  Soviet  Government.  We  await 
your  reply  to  this  telegram. ' ' 

Radek  remained  in  Vologda  some  days.  He  made  a 
bad  impression  upon  the  people  of  Vologda,  who  showed 
their  opposition  to  him  and  their  preference  for  the 
Allies  against  the  Germans  in  many  ways.  The  Bol- 
shevik element  called  a  meeting  of  about  2,000  workmen, 
including  the  railroad  employees,  for  the  purpose  of 
hearing  a  speech  from  Radek  on  the  evening  of  July 
15th.  This  speech  was  intended  to  incite  feeling  against 
the  Allies.  Radek  even  went  so  far  as  to  say  that  the 
workmen  must  unite  with  the  German  troops  to  oppose 
the  Anglo-French  soldiers.  This  was  too  much  for  the 
audience,  who  immediately  cried  out:  "We  won't  do  it. 
The  Germans  have  shown  what  they  will  do  by  their 
conduct  in  the  Ukraine.  We  prefer  the  Allies,  and  we  will 
join  them  and  fight  the  Germans."  Radek  was  very 
much  incensed,  and  threatened  that  the  Bolshevik  Gov- 
ernment would  treat  Vologda  as  it  did  Yarsolave,  and 
would  destroy  both  cities. 

While  this  pressure  was  being  brought  to  bear  to  in- 
duce the  Allied  diplomats  to  go  to  Moscow,  I  was  visited 
at  11  o'clock  at  night,  July  17th,  by  a  British  captain, 
named  McGrath,  who  had  come  down  that  same  after- 
noon from  Archangel.  Lindley,  the  British  Charge, 
brought  McGrath  to  the  Embassy.  I  had  already  heard 
from  Riggs,  who  came  down  from  Archangel  on  the  same 


VOLOGDA— THE  DIPLOMATIC  CAPITAL    251 

train  with  McGrath,  that  General  Poole,  in  command 
of  the  British,  was  in  closer  touch  with  the  situation  at 
Archangel  than  we  had  previously  known.  Captain  Mc- 
Grath, after  telling  me  in  a  general  way  of  the  military 
plans  of  the  Allies  for  the  occupation  of  Archangel,  said 
he  had  come  down  to  make  a  proposition  to  the  Allied 
missions  in  Vologda,  but  he  knew  I  would  be  opposed  to 
it.  His  proposition  was  that  the  missions  leave  Vologda 
for  Archangel. 

I  immediately  replied  that  I  was  not  opposed  to  leav- 
ing Vologda  or  making  any  other  strategic  move,  but 
that  I  was  opposed  to  going  to  Moscow  on  the  "invita- 
tion" of  the  Bolsheviks,  and  would  not  leave  Vologda 
by  order  of  the  Bolsheviks,  and  would  under  no  circum- 
stances leave  Russia  unless  forced  to  do  so,  or  recalled 
by  my  Government. 

Captain  McGrath 's  face  lighted  up  and  he  said  Gen- 
eral Poole  thought  the  continued  presence  of  the  Allied 
Embassies  at  Vologda  would  hamper  his  military  plans. 
General  Poole  feared  the  Soviet  Government  would  cap- 
ture the  Allied  chiefs  and  hold  them  as  hostages,  and 
possibly  some  desperate  Bolsheviks  might  commit  vio- 
lence upon  the  Allied  Ambassadors. 

I  asked  Captain  McGrath  what  his  plan  was  and  he 
said  he  wanted  us  to  leave  Vologda  in  time  to  meet  Gen- 
eral Poole,  who  was  at  Murmansk  when  the  British  ar- 
rived in  Archangel,  but  he  was  not  definitely  advised  as 
to  when  that  would  be.  Lindley,  the  British  Charge, 
had  told  me  previously  when  he  arrived  in  Vologda  that 
Poole  would  reach  Archangel  the  first  week  in  August, 
but  McGrath  said  the  British  plans  had  been  hastened 
by  our  safety  being  threatened  at  Vologda. 

I  arranged  for  McGrath  to  come  to  the  conference  of 
the  Allied  chiefs  the  following  day.  He  did  so  and  stated 
in  effect  what  he  had  told  me  the  night  before.  I  then 


outlined  to  my  colleagues  the  plan  that  we  should  be 
prepared  to  leave  for  Archangel  on  short  notice,  but 
should  not  ask  consent  of  the  Bolshevik  authorities,  and 
should  distinctly  state  that  we  were  not  going  to  leave 
Russia,  but  were  only  withdrawing  to  Archangel  tem- 
porarily for  safety,  and  to  prevent  being  taken  by  the 
Bolsheviks  as  hostages.  I  proposed  that  we  would  leave 
our  Embassies  anc^  Legations  at  Vologda  functioning  as 
usual.  I  reminded  the  chiefs  that  the  invitation  of  the 
Bolsheviks  to  come  to  Moscow  for  protection  had  been  ac- 
companied by  the  statement  that  they  could  not  protect 
us  at  Vologda  from  unreasonable  and  desperate  Russians 
or  from  five  thousand  German  and  Austrian  prisoners 
in  the  Vologda  district.  Radek  had  said  that  these  pris- 
oners were  likely  to  be  incensed  by  the  assassination  of 
Mirbach,  the  German  people  and  the  German  leaders 
having  charged  the  Allied  Ambassadors  with  instigating 
and  having  carried  into  execution  that  dastardly  act. 

Captain  McGrath  said  there  could  be  no  possible  doubt 
about  the  ability  of  the  Allies  to  land  when  they  arrived 
at  Archangel,  and  went  into  sufficient  detail  to  convince 
me  that  he  was  justified  in  making  such  statement. 

The  diplomatic  representatives  at  Vologda  agreed  for 
the  time  being  that  it  was  best  for  them  to  stay  there. 
We  had  entire  confidence  in  the  good  will  of  the  Vologda 
people,  and  we  believed  that  Moscow  was  an  undesirable 
residence  place  for  us.  We  refused  to  change  our  loca- 
tion. Tchecherin's  telegram  to  me  and  my  reply  thereto 
were  given  to  the  press  before  the  arrival  of  Radek  and 
had  been  published  in  Vologda  and  Petrograd  papers. 
The  party  headed  by  Radek  was  known  as  "the  Extraor- 
dinary Revolutionary  Staff. ' '  This  staff  issued  an  order 
addressed  to  the  journals  of  the  city,  prohibiting  publi- 
cation of  communications  or  interviews  with  us  unless 
they  were  previously  censored  by  the  staff.  We  en- 


VOLOGDA— THE  DIPLOMATIC  CAPITAL    253 

deavored  to  reach  the  Eussian  people  through  a  pam- 
phlet containing  a  copy  of  the  order  from  the  staff,  but 
another  order  was  issued  prohibiting  the  distribution  of 
these  pamphlets.  The  conclusion  of  the  Diplomatic 
Corps  was  that  the  Bolsheviks  desired  to  have  us  in 
Moscow  and  hold  us  as  hostages  in  event  of  intervention. 
It  seems  as  if  our  refusal  to  leave  Vologda  had  settled 
the  matter,  but  on  the  23rd  of  July  this  message  marked 
"Urgent"  was  received  by  me  from  Tchecherin: 

« '  I  entreat  you  most  earnestly  to  leave  Vologda,  Come 
here.  Danger  approaching.  To-morrow  can  be  too  late. 
When  battle  rages,  distinction  of  houses  cannot  be  made. 
If  all  smashed  in  your  domiciles  during  struggle  of  con- 
tending forces  responsibility  will  fall  upon  your  making 
deaf  ear  to  all  entreaties.  Why  bring  about  catastrophe 
which  you  can  avert ! ' ' 

After  consulting  with  my  colleagues,  and  finding  them 
of  the  same  mind  with  me,  that  the  plan  was  to  hold  us 
as  hostages  at  Moscow,  or  at  any  rate  to  hold  us  against 
the  German  and  Austrian  representatives  at  Moscow, 
I  replied  to  Tchecherin : 

11  Thank  you  for  your  telegram.  We  fully  appreciate 
the  uninterrupted  interest  you  have  taken  in  our  personal 
safety  and  have  decided  to  follow  your  advice  and  are 
leaving  Vologda, ' ' 

Our  determination  was  to  go  to  Archangel,  but  I  did 
not  state  in  the  telegram  where  we  proposed  to  go. 

When  we  finally  decided  to  go  to  Archangel,  I  sent 
word  to  my  colleagues  to  have  their  baggage  down  to  the 
train  before  six  o'clock,  that  the  train  would  leave  at 
eight  o'clock  in  the  evening.  I  had  held  a  special  train 
on  the  Vologda  tracks  for  five  months.  My  transporta- 
tion man,  Mason,  had  told  me  that  the  stationmaster, 
with  whom  we  had  made  friends,  would  furnish  me  a 
locomotive  on  an  hour's  notice  to  take  that  train  on  any 
road  that  we  wished.  I  sent  for  my  transportation  man 


254    RUSSIA  FROM  THE  AMERICAN  EMBASSY 

and  said :  * '  You  told  me  that  the  stationmaster  promised 
you  a  locomotive  for  this  train.  I  want  that  locomotive 
attached  to  the  train  tonight  at  7 :30  and  I  want  to  leave 
at  8."  He  left  me,  but  came  back  in  an  hour  and  said 
that  the  stationmaster  had  left  on  a  vacation,  and  that 
the  one  he  had  left  in  charge  could  not  get  a  locomotive 
without  submitting  his  request  to  Moscow.  The  station- 
master  said  that  Tchecherin  had  given  orders  to  the  Di- 
rector of  Locomotive  Power  that  he  must  not  put  a  loco- 
motive on  this  train  without  getting  his  permission.  I 
told  the  substitute  stationmaster  to  submit  the  matter  to 
Moscow.  He  did  so  and  the  reply  was:  "Who  wishes 
the  locomotive?"  I  replied  through  my  transportation 
man,  "the  American  Ambassador." 

"Where  does  he  wish  to  go?" 

"To  Archangel." 

When  the  Diplomatic  Corps  went  to  the  station  we 
were  shown  a  telegram  signed  by  Zaikin,  Commissar  of 
Exploitation  Department  of  the  Bolshevik  Government 
and  addressed  to  the  Vologda  stationmaster,  reading: 

"In  accordance  with  an  order  from  People's  Commis- 
sar for  Foreign  Affairs,  Tchecherin,  I  request  informa- 
tion immediately  as  to  who  from  the  American  Embassy 
and  for  what  purpose  is  demanding  a  special  train  to 
Archangel.  Until  the  receipt  of  this  information  and  the 
receipt  by  you  of  a  permit  to  dispatch  the  train,  same 
should  not  be  dispatched." 

I  replied  to  this : 

"The  American  Ambassador  as  Dean  of  the  Diplo- 
matic Corps,  received  about  noon  to-day  a  telegram  from 
Tchecherin  entreating  the  Diplomatic  Corps  to  leave  Vo- 
logda *  as  to-morrow  can  be  too  late, '  and  it  is  unsafe  for 
them  to  remain  there.  This  train  is  desired  by  the 
American  Ambassador  for  the  entire  Diplomatic  Corps 
to  convey  them  to  Archangel. ' ' 


VOLOGDA— THE  DIPLOMATIC  CAPITAL   255 

Then  came  a  longer  message  from  Tchecherin  still 
urging  that  the  Corps  decide  to  come  to  Moscow: 

"  Having  heard  of  your  resolve  to  leave  Vologda  for 
Archangel,  we  feel  ourselves  compelled  whilst  appreciat- 
ing your  clear  comprehension  of  the  untenable  situation 
in  Vologda  to  be  kindly  informed  by  you  about  some 
particulars  of  your  decision.    If  your  intention  is  to  leave 
Russia,  we  are  powerless  to  hinder  you  in  doing  so,  but 
we  express  our  sincerest  regrets  at  your  departure  from 
our  soil  together  with  our  hope  to  see  you  soon  in  our 
midst  here  in  the  hearts  of  Soviets  of  Russia.    In  case 
you  really  wish  to  depart  we  beg  to  emphasize  that  in  our 
view  the  relations  between  our  two  countries  are  not 
going  to  be  affected  by  an  event  to  which  we  will  not 
ascribe  any  political  symptomatic  character.     If,  how- 
ever, the  idea  of  exchanging  Vologda  for  Archangel  was 
not  altogether  removed  from  your  mind  it  is  unfortu- 
nately necessary  to  draw  your  attention  to  the  fact  that 
in  the  expectation  of  a  siege  Archangel  cannot  be  a  resi- 
dence fit  for  Ambassadors  and  that  such  a  question  can- 
not possibly  be  answered  in  the  affirmative.    I  cannot 
but  repeat  that  under  the  present  condition  when  our 
foes  seeing  their  impotence  to  take  place  in  the  politi- 
cal inclinations  of  the  great  masses  seek  to  conspire  and 
to  create  artificial  outbursts  and  to  provoke  civil  war, 
we  can,  with  complete  earnestness,  point  to  Moscow, 
where  as  experience  shows  our  forces  are  and  cannot 
but  remain  in  undisturbed  control  of  the  city  and  to  its 
peaceful  gay  suburbs  with  their  splendid  villas  as  to  an 
appropriate  abode  which  our  government  deliberately 
proposes  to  the  Ambassador  of  friendly  America.    We 
must  at  any  cost  avoid  the  danger  of  your  departure  be- 
ing misinterpreted  in  the  eyes  of  our  great  masses  and 
of  American  public  opinion  and  of  its  being  understood 
in  a  sense  altogether  dissimilar  to  that  in  which  you  and 
myself  would  understand  it.    That  at  the  present  junc- 
ture would  be  a  fatal  mistake,  and  the  best  means  of 
averting  this  danger  would  be  your  coming  to  the  official 
center   of   Russia,   where   a   warm,   friendly   reception 
awaits  you.    The  special  train  is  at  your  disposal,  but 


256    RUSSIA  FROM  THE  AMERICAN  EMBASSY 

we  do  not  lose  the  hope  that  your  decision  will  be  to  come 
to  Moscow." 

I  replied  with  a  detailed  statement  covering  the  situa- 
tion, showing  how  communication  with  the  American 
Government  had  been  practically  cut  off  and  referring  to 
the  censorship  which  prevented  the  Corps  from  printing 
anything  without  first  submitting  it  to  the  Soviet  Gov- 
ernment. I  give  this  communication  in  full : 

"On  receipt  of  your  urgent  telegram  of  the  22nd,  ad- 
dressed to  me  as  Dean  of  the  Diplomatic  Corps,  and 
received  about  noon  of  the  23rd,  I  called  the  Corps  in 
conference.  After  deliberating,  we  decided  to  leave  Vo- 
logda, but  considered  that  our  previous  telegraphic  cor- 
respondence had  fully  settled  the  question  of  our  going 
to  Moscow  and  that  conclusion  was  negative.  As  Dean 
of  the  Diplomatic  Corps,  I  replied  to  your  telegram,  ex- 
pressing appreciation  for  your  continued  interest  in  our 
personal  safety  and  advising  that  we  had  concluded  to 
leave  Vologda,  Consequently  the  entire  Diplomatic 
Corps  repaired  to  their  train  at  Vologda  Station,  but 
on  giving  directions  for  the  train  to  move  we  were  in- 
formed by  the  railroad  officials  that  no  motive  power 
could  be  furnished  without  authority  from  Moscow.  We 
were  under  the  impression  and  had  been  informed  from 
reliable  sources  that  these  trains  were  at  our  disposal 
and  locomotives  would  be  furnished  upon  our  request. 
When  such  request  was  forwarded  to  Moscow  the  reply 
was  received  after  some  delay  that  locomotives  could  not 
be  furnished  without  your  consent  and  you  desired  to 
know  who  had  asked  for  the  train  for  the  American  Am- 
bassador and  for  what  purpose  he  wished  to  go  to  Arch- 
angel. I  promptly  directed  that  reply  be  made  that  the 
locomotive  was  desired  to  take  the  entire  Diplomatic 
Corps  to  Archangel  as  they  had  concluded  to  quit  Vo- 
logda upon  receipt  of  your  urgent  telegram  entreating 
them  to  leave  because  unsafe  to  remain  in  Vologda,  and 
stating  that  postponing  departure  until  to-morrow  might 
be  too  late. 

"In  reply  to  this  statement  you  wired  me  at  length. 


VOLOGDA— THE  DIPLOMATIC  CAPITAL    257 

The  correspondence  up  to  this  time  had  been  between 
myself  as  Dean  of  the  Diplomatic  Corps  and  yourself 
as  Commissar  of  Foreign  Affairs. 

1 1  This  telegram  while  sent  by  me  as  Dean  of  the  Diplo- 
matic Corps  is  meant  also  for  my  reply  as  the  American 
Ambassador. 

"Permit  me  to  say  to  you  that  while  your  message 
is  appreciated  because  expressing  friendly  feeling  for 
the  people  I  represent  and  a  desire  on  your  part  to  main- 
tain relations  with  them  and  with  my  government,  your 
treatment  of  me  as  their  representative  does  not  accord 
with  such  expressions.  While  refraining  from  interfer- 
ing in  all  internal  affairs  in  Russia  I  have  considered 
that  the  Russian  people  were  still  our  Allies,  and  have 
more  than  once  appealed  to  them  to  unite  with  us  in  re- 
sisting a  common  enemy.  I  have  furthermore  recom- 
mended to  my  government  many  times  to  send  food  to 
relieve  the  sufferings  of  the  Russian  people  and  to  ship 
agricultural  implements  to  meet  the  requirements  of 
Russia.  A  wireless  message  sent  from  Washington  July 
18th,  received  at  Moscow,  was  delivered  to  me  after  last 
midnight.  It  stated  that  no  message  had  been  received 
from  me  of  later  date  than  June  24th,  except  one  sent 
through  Archangel  July  7th,  advising  of  the  killing  of 
the  German  Ambassador;  it  furthermore  stated  that  it 
had  cabled  me  often  and  fully.  I  have  received  no  cables 
from  my  government  that  were  sent  after  July  3rd,  ex- 
cept two  wireless  messages  inquiring  why  they  did  not 
hear  from  me ;  I  have  cabled  fully  every  day.  Moreover 
the  press  of  Vologda  and  doubtless  the  entire  press  of 
Russia  has  received  orders  to  print  nothing  from  any 
Allied  Ambassador  or  representative  without  first  sub- 
mitting same  to  the  Soviet  Government.  Some  journals 
in  Vologda  and  some  in  Petrograd  did  print  your  first 
telegram  inviting  or  ordering  the  Diplomatic  Corps  to 
come  to  Moscow  and  our  reply  thereto ;  these  were  given 
to  the  press  by  myself  for  the  information  of  the  Rus- 
sian people  and  because  I  thought  secret  diplomacy  had 
been  abolished  in  Russia.  Upon  learning  that  the  press 
was  forbidden  to  publish  further  correspondence  con- 
cerning our  removal  to  Moscow,  the  Diplomatic  Corps 


decided  to  have  printed  in  pamphlet  form  in  Russian 
the  entire  correspondence  on  the  subject  together  with 
some  excerpts  from  a  stenographic  report  of  the  inter- 
view between  your  representative  Radek  and  myself. 
These  pamphlets  have  been  ready  for  delivery  for  two 
days  past,  but  we  are  informed  that  the  Central  Soviet 
Committee  or  the  Extraordinary  Revolutionary  Staff  of 
Vologda  has  prohibited  delivery  of  same  to  us. 

"Your  last  telegram  addressed  to  myself  while  ex- 
pressing friendly  sentiments  toward  America  and  con- 
sideration for  its  Ambassador  makes  no  mention  of  my 
colleagues  representing  America's  Allies  in  Vologda. 
This  is  to  inform  you  if  you  entertain  any  doubt  on  the 
subject  that  the  Allied  representatives  in  Vologda  are 
acting  in  concert  and  in  perfect  harmony. 

"The  Allied  missions  and  staffs  have  been  living  for 
twenty-four  hours  in  special  train  on  track  of  Vologda 
station,  awaiting  a  locomotive  to  transport  them  to  Arch- 
angel. Your  telegram  to  me  states  that  if  permitted  to 
go  to  Archangel  it  would  be  only  for  the  purpose  of  their 
leaving  Russia  which  you  '  are  powerless  to  hinder. '  Your 
telegram  states  that  Archangel  is  not  a  fit  residence  for 
Ambassadors  in  the  event  of  a  'siege.'  Do  you  expect 
a  German  siege  of  Archangel?  You  certainly  do  not 
anticipate  Allied  siege  of  that  city  or  you  would  not 
insist  upon  the  Allied  representatives  coming  to  Moscow. 
If  you  mean  a  siege  of  Archangel  by  Russians  I  can  only 
repeat  what  I  have  said  to  you  and  to  the  Russian  people 
many  times,  and  that  is  that  the  Allies  have  nothing  to 
fear  from  the  Russian  people  whom  they  have  constantly 
befriended  and  with  whom  they  consider  themselves  still 
in  alliance  against  a  common  enemy.  Speaking  for  my- 
self I  have  no  desire  or  intention  of  leaving  Russia  un- 
less forced  to  do  so,  and  in  such  event  my  absence  would 
be  temporary.  I  would  not  properly  represent  my  gov- 
ernment or  the  sentiment  of  the  Ainerican  people  if  I 
should  leave  Russia  at  this  time.  The  Brest-Litovsk 
peace  the  Allies  have  never  recognized,  and  it  is  becom- 
ing so  burdensome  to  the  Russian  people  that  in  my 
judgment  the  time  is  not  far  distant  when  they  will  turn 
upon  Germany  and  by  their  repulsion  of  the  invader 


VOLOGDA— THE  DIPLOMATIC  CAPITAL    259 

from  the  Russian  "borders  will  demonstrate  what  I  have 
continuously  believed,  and  that  is  that  the  national  spirit 
of  great  Russia  is  not  dead  but  has  only  been  sleeping. 

''The  above  are  my  personal  views  and  feelings  and 
I  think  that  in  cherishing  such  I  am  properly  repre- 
senting my  government  and  my  people. 

"The  Allied  Diplomatic  Corps  of  Vologda  await  your 
immediate  approval  of  the  locomotive  to  draw  their  train 
to  Archangel.  If  local  authorities  at  Archangel  consider 
the  situation  does  not  allow  us  to  remain,  we  shall  leave 
with  deep  regret  and  with  the  hope  of  soon  returning." 

After  the  receipt  of  this  telegram,  Tchecherin  said  he 
would  go  to  the  direct  wire  and  wished  the  American 
Ambassador  or  his  representative  at  Vologda  to  be  there. 
I  sent  Mr.  Lehrs,  an  attache  of  the  Embassy,  with  in- 
structions to  inform  Tchecherin  that  the  Diplomatic 
Corps  reiterated  with  emphasis  its  request  for  a  loco- 
motive in  order  to  go  to  Archangel.  Mr.  Lehrs  reported 
that  Mr.  Tchecherin  had  given  orders  that  when  a  defi- 
nite reply  from  the  ambassadors  came  a  locomotive 
should  be  immediately  provided.  Tchecherin  also  said 
to  Lehrs  that  he  would  telegraph  Mr.  Popoff  of  the  Bol- 
sheviE  Government  at  Archangel  instructing  him  to  pre- 
pare a  steamer  for  the  Allied  Ambassadors. 

Mr.  Lehrs  reported  this  conversation  with  Tchecherin, 
and  at  my  direction  sent  the  following: 

4 'I  am  instructed  by  the  Dean  of  the  Diplomatic  Corps 
to  inform  you  that  the  diplomats  of  the  Allied  missions 
at  Vologda  after  considering  your  message  decided  to 
request  you  to  furnish  at  your  earliest  convenience  a 
locomotive  to  draw  their  special  train  from  Vologda  to 
Archangel. ' ' 

The  correspondence,  part  of  it  by  wireless,  was  com- 
pleted at  11 :20  p.  m.,  July  24th,  with  the  following  from 
Tchecherin : 


260    RUSSIA  FROM  THE  AMERICAN  EMBASSY 

"We  will  give  instructions  that  a  locomotive  be  put 
at  your  disposal  at  Vologda  and  that  a  boat  should  be 
prepared  for  you  in  Archangel.  Once  more  we  empha- 
size that  we  do  not  ascribe  a  political  meaning  to  this 
individual  leaving  of  Allied  representatives,  which  we 
profoundly  regret  and  which  was  caused  by  a  sorrowful 
of  circumstances  independent  of  our  will. ' ' 

Tchecherin  seems  to  have  been  under  the  impression 
that  after  our  departure  from  Vologda  the  Soviet  Gov- 
ernment had  disposed  of  the  American  Ambassador.  He 
sent  this  wireless  message  to  Archangel  July  29th,  1918 : 

"  American  Ambassador  Francis, 

' '  Archangel. 

1  'I  take  the  opportunity  of  this  last  moment  before  your 
departure  to  express  once  more  my  profound  regret  and 
sorrow  at  the  unfortunate  circumstances  which  have  had 
as  a  result  your  present  journey  across  the  sea  and  also 
my  best  thanks  for  your  kindness  and  courtesy  and  for 
your  good  feeling  toward  the  Russian  popular  masses 
whose  most  adequate  and  faithful  representatives  are  the 
Soviets,  the  councils  of  the  poor  and  of  the  toiling. 
Please  convey  our  affection  and  admiration  in  the  mes- 
sages you  will  send  across  the  ocean  to  the  great  people 
of  pioneers  on  the  new  continent  and  to  the  posterity 
of  Cromwell's  revolutionaries  and  of  Washington's 
bro  thers-in-arms . 

"Tchecherin." 

This  telegram  was  evidently  meant  for  consumption 
by  American  pacifists,  and  fearing  it  would  be  given  to 
the  American  people  by  the  Department  of  State,  I  failed 
to  transmit  it. 


CHAPTER  XVHI 

AECHANGEL  AND  THE  NORTHERN  GOVERNMENT 

THE  plan  had  been  to  leave  Vologda  on  the  23rd  of 
July  but  we  did  not  get  away  until  after  midnight  of 
the  24th;  the  telegraphic  correspondence  with  Moscow 
taking  that  interval.  The  Diplomatic  Corps  had  slept 
on  the  train  and  waited. 

I  had  received  a  telegram  from  Kedroff,  the  Bolshevik 
Commissar,  who  had  removed  the  City  Duma  of  Vologda 
and  the  City  Duma  of  Archangel,  saying  he  would  meet 
us  at  a  station  between  Vologda  and  Archangel,  naming 
the  station.     Our  train  arrived  there  before  his,  but 
after  we  waited  ten  or  fifteen  minutes  his  train  pulled 
into  the  station.    I  sent  Eiggs  to  ascertain  what  Kedroff 
wished  in  requesting  us  to  wait,  thinking  he  might  prob- 
ably detain  us,  and  possibly  by  force  take  us  back  to 
Moscow.    Riggs,  who  was  second  in  rank  to  Col.  Buggies 
of  the  Military  Commission,  had  learned  to  speak  Rus- 
sian, and  had  by  this  time  become  a  major.    He  was  only 
a  lieutenant  when  I  arrived  in  Petrograd,  and  was  my 
Military  Attache  until  he  was  supplanted  by  General 
Judson.    He  returned  after  a  short  conference  with  Ked- 
roff, and  reported  that  Kedroff  desired  to  inform  us 
that  a  steamboat  was  awaiting  our  arrival  at  Archangel. 
This  intelligence  was  communicated  to  us  and  relieved  us 
greatly,  as  we  were  on  our  way  out  of  Bolshevik  juris- 
diction of  Russia. 

On  our  arrival  at  Archangel,  we  were  met  by  a  delega- 
tion of  local  Bolsheviks,  accompanied  by  a  representa- 

«Mf4 


261 


live  of  the  Moscow  government.  These  officers  pointed 
to  a  boat  on  the  Dvina  River  and  said: 

''There  is  a  boat.  We  are  instructed  to  direct  your 
attention  to  that  boat,  to  put  you  on  that  boat  and  to  say 
you  can  use  that  boat  to  go  where  you  wish.*' 

I  said:  "We  refuse  to  go  on  that  boat." 

"Why?" 

"Well,"  I  said,  "we  do  not  intend  to  leave  Russia 
until  we  can  communicate  with  our  governments.  Cable 
communication  has  been  severed  for  three  weeks." 

The  Bolsheviks  replied:  "Well,  we  have  no  other 
orders. ' ' 

The  Diplomatic  Party  numbered  about  140  persons, 
counting  attaches  and  domestics.  I  said  to  the  Bolshe- 
viks :  "Moreover  that  boat  is  not  big  enough  for  us." 

They  said:  "We  will  give  you  an  additional  boat." 

In  the  course  of  further  conversation  these  local  Bol- 
sheviks seemed  to  be  perplexed  as  to  their  own  course, 
and  asked  us:  "What  are  we  to  dot " 

I  replied:  "I  do  not  know  what  you  are  to  do  except 
to  go  and  report  what  we  say  to  the  people  at  Moscow, 
to  Lenin,  Trotzky  and  Tchecherin." 

They  stationed  guards  around  the  train  and  left.  That 
was  on  the  26th  of  July.  In  about  thirty  hours  they 
returned.  We  learned  that  they  had  been  wiring  Moscow 
and  received  answer.  The  purport  of  this  correspond- 
ence had  been  made  known  to  us  through  confidential 
sources.  We  knew  that  the  Moscow  people,  while  pro- 
fessing to  desire  us  to  leave  Russia,  were  telling  the  local 
Bolsheviks  to  hold  us  as  hostages.  About  two  or  three 
o'clock  in  the  afternoon  of  the  27th  of  July,  the  Bolshe- 
viks came  back  to  the  train  where  we  were.  By  that 
time,  acting  upon  the  information  we  had  received  as  to 
the  communications  from  Moscow,  and  also  upon  in- 
formation of  local  trouble,  we  had  determin.ed  that  our 


ARCHANGEL  263 

best  plan  was  to  get  away  to  Kandalaksha.  Information 
had  reached  us  through  confidential  channels  that  an 
anti-Bolshevik  revolution  was  about  to  take  place  at 
Archangel.  We  felt  that  we  would  not  want  to  be  there 
when  it  occurred. 

When  the  Bolshevik  officers  came  back  to  the  train,  we 
assumed  a  firm  attitude  before  them,  and  insisted  on 
leaving  Archangel  for  Kandalaksha,  which  was  under 
Allied  control.     The  Bolsheviks,  realizing  local  condi- 
tions and  at  the  same  time  having  their  instructions  from 
Moscow,  were  frightened.    They  did  nothing  to  actually 
detain  us,  but  they  threw  all  the  obstacles  in  the  way 
they  could.    For  example :  when  we  had  expressed  our 
determination  to  go  to  Kandalaksha,  they  said  our  bag- 
gage did  not  have  diplomatic  seals  on  it.    I  said  to  my 
colleagues :  "  We  will  go  down  and  identify  the  baggage." 
After  this  the  baggage  was  transferred  to  the  boat  about 
eight  o'clock  in  the  evening.     Then  the  Bolsheviks  in- 
sisted that  we  must  all  come  off  the  boat  and  show  our 
passports  when  we  reembarked.    We  complied  with  this. 
By  that  time  it  was  midnight.    The  next  excuse  was  that 
the  Bolshevik  officers  must  go  across  the  river  to  have  our 
passports  vised.    The  railroads  do  not  enter  Archangel. 
They  stop  at  the  south  side  of  the  Dvina  Biver,  which  is 
about  a  mile  wide.    The  Bolsheviks  went  over  to  Archan- 
gel, and  were  gone  until  four  o'clock  in  the  morning. 
Then  they  came  back,  and  at  that  hour  on  the  29th  of 
July,  we  cleared  for  Kandalaksha, 

If  the  Bolsheviks  had  not  given  permission  for  us  to 
leave  for  Kandalaksha,  we  intended  to  go  anyway. 
There  was  a  British  merchantman  in  the  harbor,  and  I 
had  asked  the  British  Commissioner  Lindley,  "  What  boat 
is  that!" 

His  reply  was:  "It  is  one  of  ours." 

I  asked:  "Will  it  obey  your  instructions?"    He  said: 


264    RUSSIA  FROM  THE  AMERICAN  EMBASSY 

"I  think  so."  I  said:  "If  the  Bolsheviks  do  not  come 
by  seven  o'clock,  we  will  get  on  that  boat  and  go  to 
Kandalaksha,"  but  the  Bolsheviks  came  at  four  o'clock. 
I  had  had  the  conversation  about  the  British  merchant- 
man two  hours  previous. 

At  Kandalaksha  we  heard  that  General  Poole,  in  com- 
mand of  the  British  forces,  was  at  Murmansk,  which  is  a 
port  of  the  railroad  that  is  open  all  year  around  as  the 
Gulf  Stream  flows  by  that  port.  Kandalaksha  is  about 
150  miles  south  of  Murmansk.  General  Poole  with  about 
2,000  men  cleared  for  Archangel.  The  forces  arrived  at 
Archangel  on  the  2nd  of  August.  Not  knowing  whether 
he  was  to  be  opposed  in  his  plan  to  land  there,  he  tele- 
phoned in  from  the  pier:  ''What  government  is  in  con- 
trol here?"  The  reply  was:  ''The  Provisional  Govern- 
ment of  Northern  Russia," 

It  seems  that  the  anti-Bolshevik  revolution,  of  the 
plans  for  which  we  had  learned  before  we  left  Archangel, 
had  taken  place  about  four  hours  before  the  arrival  of 
the  troops.  The  General  inquired:  "Will  you  permit  us 
to  land!"  The  Bolshevik  Government,  under  instruc- 
tions from  Moscow,  had  been  prepared  to  resist  the  land- 
ing. The  reply  of  the  new  government  was : ' '  Yes,  come 
quick."  The  landing  at  Archangel  was  made  on  the 
2nd  of  August. 

The  first  landing  of  Allied  troops  on  the  North  coast 
of  Russia  came  about  without  opposition  by  the  Bol- 
sheviks through  an  interesting  combination  of  circum- 
stances. It  will  be  remembered  that  Trotzky  refused  to 
participate  in  the  second  negotiations  for  the  Brest- 
Litovsk  treaty.  He  sent  Tchecherin  in  his  place.  Tche- 
cherin  wired  for  a  special  train  to  return  from  Brest- 
Litovsk  without  saying  whether  he  had  signed  the  treaty. 
The  terms  of  the  treaty  were  far  more  severe  than  those 
which  Trotzky  had  rejected  during  the  first  negotiations, 


AECHANGEL  265 

and  Trotzky  supposed  Tchecherin  had  refused  to  sign 
them.  Just  at  the  time  of  Tchecherin 's  request  for  a 
train  on  which  to  return,  Trotzky  received  an  inquiry 
from  the  local  Soviet  at  Murmansk  wishing  to  know 
whether  the  Bolsheviks  there  should  permit  Allied  troops 
to  land.  Trotzky,  thinking  Tchecherin  had  not  signed  the 
treaty  because  of  its  severe  terms,  replied  to  the  inquiry : 
"Yes,  permit  the  Allied  troops  to  land  without  resis- 
tance." Whereupon  the  local  commissars,  or  Bolsheviks, 
at  Murmansk  informed  the  Allied  troops  of  Trotzky 's 
instructions,  and  even  invited  the  Allied  troops  to  land. 

Captain  Martin,  of  the  American  Military  Mission, 
just  before  his  departure  for  Murmansk  to  meet  the 
Allied  forces,  called  upon  me  at  the  American  Embassy 
in  Petrograd,  and  asked  if  I  had  any  message  to  send  to 
Captain  Bierer,  who  was  in  command  of  the  cruiser 
Olympia  in  Murmansk  harbor.  I  replied:  "Tell  Cap- 
tain Bierer  that  I  do  not  assume  authority  to  command 
him  to  land  his  marines,  but  if  I  were  called  upon  to  give 
advice,  I  should  want  American  marines  to  land,  pro- 
vided the  British  and  French  and  Italian  troops  were 
landed." 

I  subsequently  met  Assistant  Secretary  of  the  Navy, 
Franklin  D.  Roosevelt,  who  informed  me  that  Captain 
Bierer,  in  command  of  200  American  marines,  was  in- 
structed to  obey  my  orders.  These  marines  were  the 
first  American  troops  to  be  landed  in  Russia, 

The  Allied  missions  had  held  the  boats  on  which  they 
had  come  from  Archangel  to  Kandalaksha,  The  British 
Commissioner,  the  Italian  Ambassador  and  the  French 
Minister  and  I  went  from  Kandalaksha  to  Murmansk 
and  were  able  to  communicate  with  our  governments 
from  there.  I  cabled  Washington  my  plan,  that  I  was 
going  back  to  Archangel,  and  received  approval  of  the 


266    RUSSIA  FROM  THE  AMERICAN  EMBASSY 

plan.    So  I  went  back  to  Archangel,  and  remained  there 
until  November  6th. 

The  revolution  against  the  Bolsheviks  at  Archangel 
established  what  was  known  as  the  Sovereign  Govern- 
ment of  the  Northern  Region.  This  government  not  only 
welcomed  the  landing  of  the  Allied  forces,  but  invited 
the  Allied  missions  to  return  to  Archangel.  The  head  of 
that  government  was  Tchaikovsky.  In  a  letter  written 
from  Archangel,  August  29th,  1918,  to  Charles  R.  Crane 
of  Chicago,  I  wrote  of  Tchaikovsky : 

"He  spent  four  years,  1875-79  in  America,  and  was  a 
Russian  exile  in  England  from  1879  to  1907.  When  in 
America  he  lived  at  Independence,  Kansas,  where  he 
attempted  to  form  a  new  religious  sect,  but  failed  therein. 
He  told  someone  a  few  days  ago  that  he  still  cherished 
the  belief  that  God  is  in  every  man's  soul,  and  that  is  the 
sole  existence  of  what  the  religious  denominations  call 
the  Supreme  Being,  but  that  he  had  abandoned  all  effort 
to  found  such  a  sect  because  the  race  has  not  arrived  at 
that  stage  of  development  where  it  can  appreciate  such 
beliefs.  He  is  an  able  writer,  a  fine  character  and  a 
valuable  man." 

To  my  son,  Sidney,  I  wrote  on  the  30th  of  July  from 
Kandalaksha : 

' '  The  Russian  people  are  divided  between  a  Monarchy 
and  a  Socialistic  Republic,  and  I  am  not  interfering  in 
the  slightest  degree  in  any  way.  Their  national  pride 
seems  to  be  awakening,  and  they  are  so  disgusted  with 
the  Bolshevik  rule  that  they  would  make  an  alliance 
v  with  Germany  if  we  don't  intervene.  Have  written  you 
that  I  recommended  the  intervention  in  cable  of  May  2nd, 
but  have  not  been  advised  whether  this  principle  has 
been  passed  upon.  It  is  true  that  American  marines 
have  been  landed  at  Murmansk,  and  I  believe  that  Ameri- 
can troops  are  enroute  to  Archangel.  Suffice  it  to  say 


ARCHANGEL  267 

that  Russia  is  an  immense  country  abundant  in  resources, 
and  nearly  two  hundred  million  people  who  are  unedu- 
cated but  who  love  the  land  devotedly.  I  have  issued  a 
number  of  statements  or  pronunciamentos  trying  to 
arouse  the  Russian  people  against  Germany  and  have 
gotten  limited  circulation  therefor.  The  general  instruc- 
tions to  diplomats  are  to  do  nothing  at  this  time  without 
instructions  from  the  Department.  I  have  not  been 
1  called  down*  thus  far." 

I  very  soon  established  close  relations  with  the  Ameri- 
can Expeditionary  Forces  which  had  been  landed  at 
Archangel.  The  information  came  to  me  one  day  that 
our  American  soldiers  were  manning  the  street  cars. 
There  had  been  a  general  strike  in  Archangel.  When 
the  workmen  heard  of  the  kidnapping  of  the  Tschaikov- 
sky  Ministers,  some  30,000  of  them  quit  work,  including 
all  those  in  the  factories.  The  street  car  forces  joined 
the  strike.  As  soon  as  I  heard  that  American  forces 
were  manning  the  street  cars  instead  of  the  strikers,  I 
called  up  Col.  Stewart,  the  commanding  officer,  or  rather 
attempted  to  call  him  up,  but  could  not  find  him.  I  then 
called  for  Major  Nichols,  who  was  in  command  of  the 
American  battalion  still  remaining  in  Archangel, — the 
one  I  had  reviewed.  I  asked  Major -Nichols,  "Is  it  true 
that  American  soldiers  are  manning  the  street  cars?" 

"Yes." 

"Do  you  know  that  will  raise  commotion  in  America? 
By  whose  orders  has  this  been  done?" 

"Well,  G.  H.  Q."    (General  Headquarters.) 

"Was  it  in  writing?" 

1 '  No,  it  was  not  in  writing.  I  was  called  up  by  phone 
and  asked  if  I  had  any  men  here  who  could  act  as  motor- 
men  and  conductors  in  the  street  cars  here.  As  my 
battalion  was  recruited  in  Detroit,  and  about  one-half  of 
them  are  motormen  and  conductors,  I  said  'Yes.'  I  sent 


268   RUSSIA  FROM  THE  AMERICAN  EMBASSY 

some  of  the  men  down  to  the  car  sheds  to  take  the  cars 
out." 

"Where  is  Col.  Stewart  1"  I  asked. 

Major  Nichols  replied:  "Mr.  Ambassador,  we  are 
charging  no  fares."  I  said:  "That  is  different,  but  I 
want  Col.  Stewart  anyway." 

For  twenty-four  hours  or  perhaps  thirty  hours,  Ameri- 
cans were  conducting  the  street  cars,  or  acting  as  motor- 
men,  and  at  every  stopping  place,  which  in  Archangel  is 
every  two  or  three  blocks,  there  were  two  or  three  Ameri- 
can soldiers  to  keep  the  crowds  from  overloading  the 
cars.  That  was  because  no  fares  were  being  charged. 
In  connection  with  this  street  car  incident,  I  made  an 
announcement  of  America's  position  in  Archangel.  I 
said,  "In  connection  with  this  street  car  strike,  there  is 
one  thing  I  want  understood."  I  said  it  with  the  em- 
phasis of  an  oath,  I  believe.  * '  There  is  one  thing  I  want 
understood." 

"What  is  that!"  I  was  asked. 

I  said :  "Civil  strife  in  the  rear  of  our  front.  I  am  not 
going  to  permit  the  lives  of  our  soldiers  to  be  jeopar- 
dized by  Bolsheviks  on  one  side  and  a  civil  war  in  the 
rear.  I  will  order  them  back  from  the  railroad,  and 
from  up  the  river,  and  if  there  is  a  gun  fired  we  will 
participate  in  the  firing  ourselves,  if  we  have  to  kill 
Russians." 

After  that  there  was  no  fear  of  civil  strife. 

Right  here,  I  would  like  to  say  a  word  about  the  Ameri- 
can soldiers  who  landed  at  Archangel.  They  showed  the 
same  spirit  that  they  did  on  the  Western  front.  They 
were  just  as  anxious  to  get  into  a  fight.  They  understood 
the  cause  of  the  war. 

I  had  a  personal  experience  with  a  group  of  these 
American  soldiers,  most  of  whom  were  from  Michigan 
and  Minnesota,  and  seemed  to  know  me  by  reputation. 


ARCHANGEL  269 

One  day  while  walking  along  the  principal  thoroughfare, 
the  Broadway  of  Archangel,  I  saw  three  or  four  soldiers 
engrossed  with  a  war  map.  I  stopped  and  said  to  them, 
in  English,  of  course,  "You  are  American  soldiers." 
They  turned  around  and  smiled  at  me,  and  I  said,  "I 
never  was  so  glad  to  see  American  soldiers  in  my  life  as 
I  was  when  you  landed  here  a  few  days  ago."  They 
looked  pleasant,  but  did  not  make  any  answer,  and  I 
continued,  "I  am  the  American  Ambassador."  They 
looked  more  interested  and  opened  their  eyes  wider,  but 
did  not  reply  or  ask  me  any  questions.  I  said  something 
more  to  them — four  or  five  more  remarks  in  an  interroga- 
tive way — and  they  answered  respectfully,  "yes,"  and 
'  *  no, ' '  but  did  not  develop  the  conversation.  I  turned  to 
go  away,  when  the  soldiers  stopped  the  man  who  was 
with  me,  and  asked  "Who  is  that  fellow?"  The  man 
replied,  "That  is  Governor  Francis."  They  said,  "Why 
in  hell  didn't  he  say  so." 

Archangel  is  on  the  White  Sea— a  place  of  about  50,000 
or  60,000  people.  It  has  very  substantial  structures, 
more  substantial  than  Vologda,  although  it  is  not  so  old. 
On  the  night  of  the  5th  of  September,  1918,  occurred  a 
coup  d'etat.  Americans  would  call  it  a  plain  case  of 
kidnapping.  All  ministers  but  two  of  the  new  Northern 
Government  were  taken  from  their  homes  and  conveyed 
on  a  steamer  to  the  Soliovetski  Monastery  on  Soliovetski 
Island,  which  was  about  thirty  hours  from  Archangel. 
The  kidnapping  was  done  by  a  party  of  Russian  Officers, 
counter-revolutionists,  who  were  against  the  Tchaikov- 
sky Government,  because  the  ministers  were  Socialists. 
The  head  of  the  kidnapping  party  was  a  man  named 
Chaplin,  a  Russian  naval  officer,  attached  to  the  staff  of 
General  Poole. 

On  the  morning  of  the  5th  of  September,  following 
the  kidnapping,  I  was  reviewing  a  battalion  of  American 


270    RUSSIA  FROM  THE  AMERICAN  EMBASSY 

troops.  Three  American  battalions  had  been  landed,  one 
of  them  had  been  sent  down  the  railroad  toward  Vologda, 
one  was  up  the  Dvina  River,  toward  Kotlas,  and  the  other 
one  was  held  at  Archangel.  I  had  just  finished  reviewing 
this  battalion  that  was  left  in  Archangel,  when  General 
Poole,  who  with  me  on  the  Government  steps  had  re- 
ceived the  salute,  turned  to  me  and  said :  * '  There  was  a 
revolution  here  last  night."  I  said:  "The  hell  you  say! 
Who  pulled  it  off?"  He  replied:  "Chaplin."  Chaplin, 
as  I  have  said,  was  a  Russian  naval  officer  on  General 
Poole 's  staff.  I  said:  "There  is  Chaplin  over  there 
now."  I  motioned  for  him  to  come  over  and  join  us. 
General  Poole  remarked,  "Chaplin  is  going  to  issue  a 
proclamation  at  11  o'clock."  It  was  then  10:15.  I  said: 
"Chaplin,  who  pulled  off  this  revolution  here  last 
night?"  He  said:  "I  did." 

Chaplin  had  done  very  good  work  against  the  Bol- 
sheviks, getting  them  deposed  and  out  of  Archangel.  He 
went  on  to  say:  "I  drove  the  Bolsheviks  out  of  here,  I 
established  this  Government" — meaning  the  Tchaikov- 
sky Government.  "The  ministers  were  in  General  Poole 's 
way,  and  were  hampering  Col.  Donop,"  who  was  the 
French  Provost  Marshal.  "I  see  no  use  for  any  govern- 
ment here  anyway. ' ' 

I  replied :  "  I  think  this  is  the  most  flagrant  usurpation 
of  power  I  ever  knew,  and  don't  you  circulate  that  proc- 
lamation that  General  Poole  tells  me  you  have  written 
until  I  can  see  it,  and  show  it  to  my  colleagues." 

The  Representatives  of  the  Allied  Missions  met  at  my 
apartment  that  day.  They  came  up  there  at  12  o'clock. 
I  had  Chaplin  there.  When  the  troops  landed,  I  had  sent 
for  Col.  Stewart,  who  was  the  commander  of  4,700  Amer- 
ican soldiers,  and  asked  him :  * '  Have  you  any  communi- 
cation for  me?"  He  said,  "No."  I  said,  "What  are 
your  orders?"  He  said,  "To  report  to  General  Poole, 


ARCHANGEL  271 

who  is  in  command  of  the  Allied  forces  in  Northern  Rus- 
sia." I  said,  "I  interpret  our  policy  here.  If  I  should 
tell  yon  not  to  obey  one  of  General  Poole  's  orders  what 
would  you  do?"  He  said,  "I  would  obey  you." 

This  conversation  had  taken  place  before  the  kidnap- 
ping. I  had  arranged  beforehand  through  the  Depart- 
ment of  State  the  relations  between  the  Ambassador  and 
the  American  forces.  I  had  cabled  the  State  Department 
that  as  I  was  interpreting  the  American  policy  in  North 
Russia,  I  requested  that  the  ranking  officer  in  command 
of  the  American  troops  be  put  in  close  touch  with  me. 
Basil  Miles,  who  was  head  of  the  Russian  Bureau  in  the 
State  Department,  told  me  when  I  arrived  in  Washing- 
ton six  months  later  that  he  had  taken  my  cable  over  to 
General  March,  who  manifested  great  annoyance  on 
reading  the  cable,  and  said:  "I  didn't  want  the  Ambas- 
sador to  have  anything  to  do  with  these  troops."  Mr. 
Miles  returned  to  the  State  Department,  and  told  Assist- 
ant Secretary  Long  of  his  interview  with  General  March. 
Assistant  Secretary  Long  wrote  a  letter  to  the  President 
expressing  the  opinion  that  I  had  made  a  proper  request 
in  desiring  the  ranking  officer  in  command  of  American 
troops  to  be  in  close  touch  with  me,  as  I  was  interpreting 
American  policy  in  Russia.  The  President  evidently 
agreed  with  Assistant  Secretary  Long,  as  in  a  war  council 
held  the  following  day,  he  told  General  March  that  he 
thought  I  had  made  a  reasonable  request  and  ordered  that 
request  complied  with.  General  March  immediately 
cabled  Col.  Stewart  to  get  in  close  touch  with  me,  which 
accounts  for  Col.  Stewart's  reply  to  me  when  I  asked 
him  whose  orders  he  would  obey. 

We  brought  back  the  Tchaikovsky  ministers  composing 
this  "socialistic  government"  as  Chaplin  and  his  asso- 
ciates called  it.  It  seems  those  ministers  had  been 
aroused  at  their  apartment  about  12 :30  at  night,  and  had 


272    RUSSIA  FROM  THE  AMERICAN  EMBASSY 

been  told  to  put  on  their  clothes.  They  asked,  "What 
are  you  going  to  do  with  us?"  Chaplin's  party  replied, 
"We  are  going  to  put  you  in  a  monastery.'*  The  minis- 
ters were  taken  to  a  boat,  and  the  boat  cleared  about 
4 :30  in  the  morning.  It  was  after  ten  when  I  heard  of 
the  coup  d'etat,  or  kidnapping,  through  General  Poole. 
The  boat  on  which  the  Ministers  had  been  taken  away 
had  no  wireless  apparatus,  and  we  could  not  communi- 
cate with  them.  We  wired  to  Kem,  which  is  a  station 
down  the  Murman  Railroad,  about  twenty-five  miles  be- 
low Kandalaksha,  to  get  a  boat  over  there  and  get  these 
ministers  when  they  landed  there  and  bring  them  back 
to  Archangel. 

There  was  something  significant  about  the  time  chosen 
for  his  kidnapping.  The  American  troops  had  landed 
on  the  4th  of  September,  and  the  kidnapping  took  place, 
as  I  have  said,  on  the  night  of  the  5th.  It  was  timed,  I 
think,  to  make  the  impression  upon  the  people  up  there 
that  it  had  the  sanction,  if  it  was  not  at  the  instigation 
of  the  American  Ambassador,  occurring  as  it  did  almost 
simultaneously  with  the  landing  of  the  American  troops. 
I  soon  gave  them  to  understand  that  I  did  not  sanction 
the  kidnapping  at  all. 

As  soon  as  the  news  was  spread  of  the  kidnapping, 
petitions  and  delegations  and  telegrams  were  coming  to 
me  as  Dean  of  the  Diplomatic  Corps,  asking  that  the  de- 
posed government  of  ministers  be  reinstated.  The 
Tchaikovsky  administration,  I  think,  was  well  disposed, 
and  intended  to  administer  a  very  good  government.  As 
to  the  position  of  General  Poole,  I  am  satisfied  he  did  not 
want  to  establish  a  government  of  his  own,  but  British 
soldiers  have  been  colonizers  for  so  long  that  they  do  not 
know  how  to  respect  the  feelings  of  socialists.  I  do  not 
mean  to  say  that  is  the  policy  of  the  British  Government, 
but  British  officers  have  had  to  do  so  much  with  uncivi- 


ARCHANGEL  273 

iized  people,  and  Great  Britain  has  done  so  much  colo- 
nizing that  its  officers  do  not  feel  as  American  officers  do. 
We  brought  back  the  Tchaikovsky  Government  on  Sun- 
day night,  and  the  ministers  were  reinstalled  on  Monday 
morning  at  9  o'clock.  The  confused  conditions  which 
prevailed  in  Archangel  after  I  learned  that  Tchaikovsky 
and  his  fellow  ministers  had  been  kidnapped  and  taken 
to  the  monastery  are  thus  described  in  my  report  to  the 
Secretary  of  State,  dated  September  10,  1918: 

"I  asked  Chaplin  if  he  had  gone  with  those  detailed  to 
arrest  the  Ministers  and  was  told  he  had  not,  but  he  had 
given  a  written  order  to  the  officer  in  command,  and  that 
officer  had  arrested  the  Ministers  and  taken  them  to  the 
steamer  in  the  harbor  and  they  had  cleared  for  the  mon- 
astery between  2  a,m.  and  4  a,m.  General  Poole  had  told 
me  that  Chaplin  was  going  to  issue  a  proclamation  ex- 
plaining to  the  people  that  the  Sovereign  Government 
had  been  deposed  and  that  he  was  in  command  of  the 
situation.  Chaplin's  manner  indicated  that  he  was  proud 
of  the  deed,  and  expected  commendation.  I  told  General 
Poole  not  to  permit  any  proclamation  to  be  circulated 
before  submitting  it  to  the  Allied  Ambassadors,  whom  I 
requested  to  meet  in  my  apartment  at  12  noon.  They 
assembled  at  that  hour,  when  General  Poole  brought  me 
a  copy  of  the  proclamation  by  Chaplin,  and  said  he  had 
held  up  its  circulation  until  the  Allied  Ambassadors  could 
pass  upon  it.  The  Allied  Ambassadors  immediately  de- 
cided to  bring  back  the  kidnapped  ministers  and  sent  for 
Chaplin,  who  came  with  Startseff,  Commissar  of  Archan- 
gel under  the  Sovereign  Government,  who  had  joined 
with  Chaplin  in  deposing  it.  We  told  Chaplin  to  issue 
no  proclamation;  that  we  had  ordered  the  ministers 
brought  back,  and  I  told  him  that  I  considered  his  act  a 
flagrant  usurpation  of  power,  and  an  insult  to  the  Allied 
Ambassadors.  That  evening  about  10  p.m.,  September 
6th,  Chaplin  issued  a  proclamation,  appointing  Ignatieff 
to  the  position  from  which  the  Sovereign  Government 
had  removed  him  three  days  previous,  and  appointing 


274    RUSSIA  FROM  THE  AMERICAN  EMBASSY 

Durop,  Assistant  Minister  of  War  under  the  Sovereign 
Government,  to  be  Minister  of  War. 

* '  Durop  came  to  the  ambassadors '  meeting  on  the  fol- 
lowing day,  September  7th,  and  said  he  had  been  offered 
the  post  of  Minister  of  War,  but  had  declined  it,  and 
would  not  serve  under  Chaplin,  as  he  considered  Chaplin 
an  adventurer.  Meantime  the  strongest  man  in  the 
Ministry,  Dyedushenko,  who  held  three  portfolios,  had 
escaped  arrest  by  not  sleeping  in  his  apartment.  He  had 
sent  word  to  me  that  he  would  like  to  call  if  I  -would  guar- 
antee him  against  arrest,  which  I  promptly  did.  He  came 
while  the  ambassadors  were  in  session  and  was  invited 
in.  He  and  another  minister,  who  had  escaped  arrest, 
Evanoff,  by  name,  had  prepared  a  proclamation,  calling 
upon  laborers,  peasants  and  citizens  to  resist  the  Chaplin 
domination  and  charging  it  with  being  monarchistic, 
stating  that  the  Grand  Duke  Michael,  brother  of  the 
murdered  Czar,  was  in  Archangel,  and  implying,  if  not 
asserting,  that  the  Chaplin  movement  was  in  concert  with 
the  Grand  Duke's  followers.  We  told  Dyedushenko  not 
to  circulate  the  proclamation,  and  he  went  to  the  tele- 
phone in  my  apartment  and  gave  an  order  to  that  effect. 
The  four  Allied  Ambassadors  issued  a  statement  which 
was  circulated,  a  copy  of  which  is  enclosed.  The  morning 
of  September  7th,  crowds  were  gathered  around  these 
three  declarations,  namely:  The  Ambassadors,  and  the 
one  from  Chaplin  and  Startseff  and  the  third  from  Dye- 
dushenko and  Evanoff.  To  say  that  the  populace  was 
confused  inadequately  expresses  the  condition  of  their 
minds. 

"Meantime  I  had  been  visited  by  delegations  of  work- 
men, of  peasants,  of  Zemstvos  and  of  Cooperatives,  all  of 
which  protested  against  the  Chaplin  government,  and 
stated  they  were  in  favor  of  the  deposed  ministers.  I 
also  received  telegrams  and  petitions  from  organizations 
of  Zemstvos  and  peasants  in  the  outlying  districts,  some 
of  them  stating  that  organizations  were  arming  and  com- 
ing to  Archangel  to  reinstate  the  Sovereign  Government. 
The  strike  committee  ordered  a  general  strike  of  the 
workmen,  including  those  at  the  electric  light  plant  ami 
conductors  and  motormen  of  street  cars.  I  thought  that 


ARCHANGEL  275 

the  situation  justified  and  demanded  that  the  Allies 
should  assume  control.  My  colleagues  and  General  Poole 
agreed  thereto,  and  a  proclamation  or  statement  was 
prepared  setting  forth  such  conclusion.  By  the  time  this 
proclamation  was  translated  into  Russian  it  was  8  p.m., 
and  upon  sending  it  to  the  printers  we  were  informed 
that  the  printers  were  on  strike,  consequently  the  procla- 
mation was  never  published. 

"The  Ministers  returned  at  9  p.m.  on  Sunday,  Sep- 
tember 8th,  and  were  held  on  the  steamer  in  the  harbor 
until  a  representative  of  the  Allied  Ambassadors,  Lind- 
ley,  could  tell  them  of  the  action  of  the  Ambassadors. 
Lindley  returned  to  my  apartment  about  11  p.m.,  and 
reported  that  President  Tchaikovsky  appeared  grateful 
that  he  and  his  colleagues  were  so  promptly  returned  and 
promised  to  perform  no  act  of  government  until  meeting 
with  the  Ambassadors  at  11  a.m.,  the  following  day, 
September  9th. 

"After  we  succeeded  in  bringing  them  back  the  Allied 
Ambassadors  conferred  with  them  in  the  hope  of  being 
able  to  reestablish  the  Tchaikovsky  Government  on  a 
firm  basis. ' ' 

The  report  made  by  me  on  September  12th,  1918,  to  the 
Secretary  of  State  sets  forth  the  discouragement  that 
attended  our  efforts: 

"Yesterday  afternoon  the  three  Ministers  who  at- 
tended the  conference  with  the  four  Ambassadors  sur- 
prised us  very  much  by  reading  a  declaration  to  the  effect 
that  they  were  going  to  abdicate  and  appoint  a  Governor- 
General,  who  would  report  direct  to  the  new  government 
combination,  whose  headquarters  are  at  Samara.  The 
main  cause  given  for  the  abdication  was  that  their  decree 
of  mobilization  had  been  a  failure.  It  appears  that 
Chaplin  had  assembled  in  Archangel  about  300  Russian 
officers,  who  were  completely  under  his  control,  with,  I 
suspect,  the  encouragement  of  some  British  and  French 
military  officers.  Tchaikovsky,  who  was  an  old  man  and 
unaccustomed  to  the  responsibilities  of  the  position  he 
had  held  for  six  weeks,  appears  75  years  of  age.  He  told 


276    RUSSIA  FROM  THE  AMERICAN  EMBASSY 

us  in  tremulous  tones  that  only  three  officers,  of  the  300 
or  more  he  had  expected,  had  obeyed  the  call  for  mobili- 
zation. That  call  specified  that  officers  desiring  to  serve 
in  the  army  should  report  first  to  the  Sovereign  Govern- 
ment and  fixed  dates  therefor.  Furthermore,  he  stated 
that  while  the  Allied  Diplomatic  Chiefs  were  well  dis- 
posed toward  the  new  government,  friction  was  constant- 
ly arising  between  the  British  Military  control,  repre- 
sented by  the  British  Intelligence  Bureau  under  Colonel 
Thornhill,  and  the  Russian  Military  officials.  He  drew 
out  the  official  newspaper  of  the  government  and  ex- 
hibited the  work  of  the  censor  commission,  which  had 
condemned  over  half  of  the  matter  in  the  proposed  issue 
of  the  paper,  and  consequently  it  was  not  issued. 

"I  have  just  written  to  General  Poole  a  note  demand- 
ing American  representation  on  this  censor  commission. 
General  Poole  appointed  a  French  Military  Governor, 
Colonel  Donop,  for  the  city  of  Archangel,  and  he  has  had 
friction  not  only  with  the  ministry  but  with  the  minis- 
try's military  appointees;  this  French  Colonel  is  sus- 
tained by  the  French  Ambassador,  who  has  suggested  a 
modus  vivendi  which  leaves  the  Sovereign  Government 
a  government  in  name  only.  I  have  not  consented  to  this 
project,  and  shall  not  without  modifications.  The  Min- 
istry planned  to  announce  to  the  Zemstvo  meeting  at  six 
p.m.  this  intention  of  abdicating  and  appointing  a  Gover- 
nor-General to  report  to  the  head  of  the  new  movement  at 
Samara,  but  we  prevailed  upon  them  not  to  do  so.  Tchai- 
kovsky went  to  the  Zemstvo  meeting  and  at  my  request, 
translated,  sentence  by  sentence,  a  speech  I  delivered 
there.  While  Tchaikovsky,  who  preceded  me,  spoke  in 
Russian,  I  had  an  interpreter  who  told  me  that  Tchaikov- 
sky said  nothing  about  the  intention  of  abdicating.  This 
new  Government  at  Samara  is  under  three  directors  who 
are  higher  than  the  Ministers  in  Archangel,  in  Samara 
and  in  Siberia;  these  three  directors  are:  Avksentieff, 
Aleksieff  and  Stapenoff.  I  told  Tchaikovsky  as  we  were 
going  to  the  Zemstvo  meeting  that  he  knew  I  was  friendly 
to  him  and  his  Government  and  that  he  should  not  take 
such  a  serious  step  without  consulting  me.  I  have  been 
waiting  for  a  call  from  him,  but  up  to  this  hour,  noon,  he 


ARCHANGEL  277 

has  not  phoned  or  called.  The  objection  I  have  to  the  new 
Government  abdicating  is  that  it  will  give  an  appearance 
to  the  presence  of  the  Allied  troops  here  of  a  decided 
military  character  and  may  possibly  arouse  opposition 
among  the  peasants  and  Zemstvos  and  Cooperatives 
against  the  Allied  forces." 

After  deciding  to  abdicate,  the  Ministers  of  the  Sove- 
reign Government  appointed  a  Governor-General,  but 
on  the  25th  of  September  reconsidered  that  decision  and 
decided  to  remain  in  office.  Tchaikovsky  also  continued 
as  President.  The  selection  for  Governor-General  was 
Duroff.  He  was  appointed  on  the  18th  of  September, 
but  issued  no  orders  until  several  days  thereafter. 

President  Tchaikovsky,  the  Governor-General,  and 
General  Poole  met  with  the  ambassadors  in  my  apart- 
ment, and  reached  an  understanding  as  thorough  as 
seemed  possible  under  the  circumstances. 

On  the  24th  of  September,  President  Tchaikovsky  tele- 
phoned me  he  would  like  to  meet  the  ambassadors,  and  I 
called  them  in  session  at  my  apartment  at  five  o'clock 
that  day.  When  they  were  all  assembled,  Tchaikovsky 
said  that  the  government  in  view  of  conditions  in  Samara 
could  not  abdicate  without  vesting  the  Governor-General 
with  dictatorial  power.  This  the  government  could  not 
think  of  doing  on  account  of  its  responsibility  to  the 
people. 

"Of  course,"  I  said,  but  my  colleagues  were  not  so 
prompt,  and  while  they  made  no  objections  I  thought  they 
were  disappointed  that  the  government  had  concluded  to 
continue. 

Three  ministers  after  the  "irrevocable  decision"  of 
the  government  left  Archangel  by  boat  for  Omsk.  These 
were  the  three  ministers  most  objectionable  to  the  opposi- 
tion, and  also  the  ministers  least  liked  by  my  colleagues. 
As  the  vessel  on  which  they  sailed  had  no  wireless  appa- 


278   RUSSIA  FROM  THE  AMERICAN  EMBASSY 

ratus  and  could  only  be  reached  at  some  place  on  the  Ob 
River,  where  they  might  make  their  first  landing,  Lindley 
and  Noulens  advised  that  no  effort  be  made  to  reach 
them.  I  did  not  object  to  permitting  them  to  remain 
away,  as  I  knew  their  return  would  bring  discord,  or 
promote  any  that  already  existed.  President  Tchaikov- 
sky did  not  say  what  he  would  do,  but  I  learned  that  he 
attempted  to  reach  them  by  wire  and  failed,  because  he 
expressed  great  concern  lest  they  might  be  shot  by  the 
Bolsheviks,  who  had  captured  the  town  to  which  he  wired. 

After  the  abdication  of  the  Sovereign  Government  took 
place  Tchaikovsky  was  thoroughly  disheartened.  He 
came  to  my  apartment  several  times  during:  the  effort  we 
were  making  to  reestablish  the  Sovereign  Government  of 
Northern  Russia.  Impressed  with  his  sincerity  and  be- 
lieving that  he  had  the  confidence  of  a  great  many  Rus- 
sians, we  endeavored  to  persuade  him  to  accept  some 
official  position.  One  suggestion  made  to  him  was  that 
he  become  Military  Governor.  He  put  this  aside.  The 
French  Ambassador  suggested  that  Tchaikovsky  become 
the  Diplomatic  Representative  of  the  Government  of 
Samara.  This  proposition  was  taken  under  advisement 
by  Tchaikovsky,  and  when  he  came  to  see  me  the  next 
day  he  told  me  that  he  had  concluded  not  to  accept,  and 
said  he  would  like  to  go  to  England  if  I  would  assist, 
which  I  promptly  agreed  to  do  if  he  had  fully  decided  to 
go,  but  expressed  the  hope  that  he  would  remain  in 
Archangel. 

I  took  advantage  of  this  private  conference  with  Tchai- 
kovsky to  ask  him  the  real  reason  for  the  Government 
abdication.  He  told  me  that  another  coup  d'etat  was 
being  planned  and  when  I  assured  him  that  I  would  take 
steps  to  prevent  same  and  to  protect  the  Ministers  in  the 
discharge  of  their  duties,  he  replied  that  the  Sovereign 
Government  could  not  get  along  with  General  Poole,  who, 


ARCHANGEL  279 

while  apparently  desirous  of  doing  the  right  thing,  was 
constantly  under  the  influence  of  the  British  officers  sur- 
rounding him  and  the  French  officers  also,  and  that  the 
British  especially  and  he  thought  the  French  also  were 
discouraging  Russians  from  joining  the  Russian  army, 
and  doing  propaganda  work  to  induce  them  to  join  the 
British  army.    He  said  the  French  had  recently  opened 
a  recruiting  station  also.     He  was  confident  that  the 
British  officers  together  with  some  of  the  French  officers 
had  planned  a  coup  d'etat,  or  kidnapping,  of  himself  and 
associates;  that  General  Poole  was  approving  orders  is- 
sued by  his  subordinates  which  sent  all  Russian  soldiers 
of  democratic  inclinations  out  of  Archangel  to  the  front, 
and  consequently  the  Russian  soldiers  remaining  were 
friends  of  Chaplin  and  opposed  to  the  Sovereign  Govern- 
ment or  to  any  regeneration  of  Russia  that  did  not  look 
to  the  restoration  of  monarchy.    At  this  juncture  Lind- 
ley  entered  and  Tchaikovsky  told  him  that  he  had  decided 
not  to  accept  the  diplomatic  post  which  Noulens  had 
suggested  the  previous  evening. 

Of  the  events  which  followed,  I  wrote  the  Department 
of  State  on  the  4th  of  October: 

"I  advised  President  Tchaikovsky  to  fill  the  vacancies 
with  representatives  of  elements  not  represented,  such 
as  commerce  and  shipping  interests,  etc.,  and  to  agree  to 
make  effort  to  do  so.  At  the  next  meeting,  held  two  days 
later,  he  informed  us  that  he  was  unable  to  fill  the  vacant 
portfolios  because  he  could  find  no  members  of  the  Con- 
stituent Assembly  among  those  interests  and  was  imper- 
vious to  our  arguments  that  it  was  not  essential  that 
ministers  should  be  members  of  the  Constituent  Assem- 
bly, which  had  been  dissolved  by  the  Bolsheviks  when  it 
attempted  to  meet  in  Petrograd  in  January  last  and  had 
never  met  since.  Furthermore,  the  membership  of  that 
Constituent  Assembly  was  depleted  by  assassination  and 


280    RUSSIA  FROM  THE  AMERICAN  EMBASSY 

flight  and  some  of  the  members,  such  as  Rodzianko,  were 
open  advocates  of  monarchy,  and  others,  such  as  Miliu- 
koff,  had  made  terms  with  the  Germans.  He  was  immov- 
able, but  was  finally  prevailed  upon  to  reduce  the  Minis- 
try to  five  members,  Matushin,  Minister  of  Finance; 
Ivanoff,  Minister  of  Agriculture;  Goukovsky,  Minister 
of  Justice;  Zouboff,  Minister  of  Post  and  Telegraph — 
Zouboff  was  not  a  member  of  the  Constituent  Assembly, 
but  was  Secretary  of  the  Government,  and  while  he  met 
with  the  Ministers  he  had  not  the  privilege  of  voting  on 
their  decrees. 

"At  the  next  meeting  President  Tchaikovsky  informed 
us  that  Matushin,  Ivanoff  and  Zouboff  had  resigned. 
Consequently  he  and  Goukovsky  were  the  only  remain- 
ing members  of  the  Constituent  Assembly.  He  said  that 
he  had  attempted  to  persuade  Grudestoff,  a  well-known 
commercial  man  representing  timber  interests,  to  become 
a  minister  without  a  vote,  as  he  was  not  a  member  of  the 
Constituent  Assembly,  but  that  Grudestoff  had  pleaded 
want  of  time,  whereupon  the  Ambassadors  asked  me  to 
attempt  to  persuade  Grudestoff,  whom  I  knew,  to  con- 
sent to  become  a  member  of  the  Government.  I  tele- 
phoned Grudestoff  and  he  came  to  my  apartment  about 
11  p.m. ;  instead  of  my  convincing  him,  he  convinced  me 
that  it  was  better  that  he  should  remain  outside  of  the 
government,  and  organize  an  executive  commission  of 
fifteen,  who  would  represent  all  interests  and  to  such 
commission  the  government  would  refer  financial,  eco- 
nomic, and  all  questions  other  than  military  over  which 
the  Governor-General  had  supreme  control,  subject  to 
the  approval  of  the  Ministry. 

4 '  The  next  meeting  held  at  11  a.m.,  the  following  day, 
was  attended  by  the  Ambassadors,  President  Tchaikov- 
sky and  Grudestoff.  The  Ambassadors  advised  that  a 
minister  be  appointed  from  the  bourgeois  classes ;  several 


ARCHANGEL  281 

names  were  suggested,  but  as  the  bourgeoisie  who  were 
active  and  influential  had  been  arrested  and  taken  to 
Moscow  by  the  Bolsheviks,  or  fled  from  Archangel  before 
the  Sovereign  Government  was  installed,  the  supply  of 
available  men  was  limited.  Several  were  suggested  dur- 
ing that  day  and  the  following  day,  but  everyone 
declined. 

"At  the  next  meeting  of  the  Ambassadors  with  Tchai- 
kovsky, it  was  agreed  that  he  and  Goukovsky  would  rep- 
resent the  Government  and  cooperate  with  the  Executive 
or  Advisory  Commission,  of  which  Grudestoff  was  to  be 
Chairman,  and  with  Col.  Duroff,  who  in  the  meantime  had 
talked  with  General  Poole,  as  I  had,  and  arranged  for 
harmonious  action.  At  this  juncture  the  subject  which 
I  had  avoided  at  previous  meetings  was  brought  up,  and 
that  was  punishment  of  the  Russians  who  had  planned 
and  executed  the  kidnapping.  General  Poole  was  pres- 
ent and  in  his  defense  of  these  men  was  very  emphatic 
and  insistent,  saying  he  knew  that  if  effort  were  made  to 
punish  them  there  would  be  greater  discord  than  ever. 
I  then  told  General  Poole  that  I  had  heard  confidentially 
from  President  Tchaikovsky,  previously,  that  the  Gov- 
ernment Secret  Service  had  informed  President  Tchai- 
kovsky that  another  coup  d'etat  or  kidnapping  of  Colonel 
Duroff  had  been  planned.  The  result  of  this  conference 
was  that  General  Poole  guaranteed  there  would  be  no 
more  coups  d'etat  and  President  Tchaikovsky  agreed  to 
issue  a  proclamation  of  amnesty  and  appeal  to  all  Rus- 
sians to  unite  in  the  formation  of  an  army  for  the  resto- 
ration of  order,  the  expulsion  of  the  Germans  and  the 
regeneration  of  Russia. 

"At  the  next  meeting  President  Tchaikovsky  informed 
us  that  Goukovsky  had  resigned  because  they  had  dif- 
fered over  the  form  of  the  proclamation  which  Duroff 
had  drawn  up  and  Tchaikovsky  had  approved  with  a 


282    RUSSIA  FROM  THE  AMERICAN  EMBASSY 

few  alterations.  He  read  the  proclamation  to  us  and  we 
commended  it.  He  thereupon  said  that  Goukovsky,  who 
is  a  lawyer  and  a  Jew,  a  man  of  fifty-odd  years,  insisted 
on  stating  in  the  proclamation  in  legal  phraseology  all 
the  reasons  why  this  amnesty  was  granted  and  they  had 
argued  four  hours  without  coming  to  any  agreement.  I 
related  a  story  of  an  old  St.  Louisan  who  said  that  he 
employed  lawyers  not  to  tell  him  what  to  do,  but  to 
arrange  methods  for  his  doing  what  he  had  concluded  to 
do.  Tchaikovsky  said  that  the  Ministers  when  they  had 
all  resigned  several  days  previously  had  empowered  him 
to  form  a  new  ministry,  but  he  could  find  no  members  of 
the  Constituent  Assembly  to  whom  he  could  assign  port- 
folios, and  as  no  supreme  power  could  exist  outside  of 
the  Constituent  Assembly  there  would  be  no  branch  of 
the  government  authorized  to  legislate. 

' '  The  next  and  final  meeting  of  the  Ambassadors  with 
Tchaikovsky  was  held  two  days  ago,  and  he  then  stated 
that  he  had  *  ordered'  Matushin  and  Zouboff  to  resume 
their  former  positions  in  the  government,  and  was  now 
looking  around  for  the  fourth  man,  or  a  fifth  counting 
Duroff,  who  would  confer  and  advise  without  a  vote. 
For  two  days  past  he  had  been  endeavoring  to  find  such 
a  man,  and  when  he  succeeds  will  inform  the  Ambassa- 
dors. I  think  now  he  will  not  appoint  a  minister  to 
whom  we  object. 

"In  the  meantime  quiet  prevails  throughout  the  city, 
and  the  forces  up  the  Dvina  and  down  the  railroad  to- 
ward Vologda  seem  to  be  resting  on  their  arms,  as  no 
engagements  have  been  reported  by  General  Poole  for 
three  days  past — the  warfare  has  been  of  a  guerrilla 
character  from  the  beginning.  A  few  days  ago  three 
British  sailors  were  surprised  and  captured  on  the  rail- 
road by  the  Bolsheviks,  were  killed  after  they  had  sur- 
rendered, and  their  arms  severed  from  their  bodies.  A 


AECHANGEL  283 

French  interpreter  was  captured  about  ten  days  ago,  was 
killed  after  capture  and  his  head  cut  off  and  his  heart 
taken  out.    Roger  Simmons  and  Peter  Bukowski,  have 
just  arrived  in  Archangel,  but  I  have  not  seen  them. 
Simmons  told  my  secretary  that  Lockhart  was  in  prison 
and  would  surely  be  shot;  that  a  young  Jewish  lawyer 
whom  I  knew  well — but  Simmons  could  not  remember  the 
name— was  in  the  same  cell  with  Simmons  and  was  taken 
out  and  shot  because  he  had  been  the  legal  adviser  of  the 
British  Embassy.     Simmons  said  he  would  have  been 
shot  the  next  day,  if  Poole,  Acting  Consul-General,  had 
not  intervened.    Simmons  also  says  that  the  doctor  who 
attended  me  during  my  illness  of  ten  days  in  April  in 
Vologda,  Dr.  Gortaloff,  a  man  of  sixty  years,  was  ar- 
rested because  he  gave  him  a  certificate  of  illness,  and 
has  probably  been  shot  ere  this.     The  Bolsheviks  are 
inhuman  brutes.     Simmons  says  they  have  heard  that 
General  Poole  said  he  would  kill  every  commissar  he 
could  capture,  and  that  numbers  of  innocent  people  had 
been  killed  in  anticipation  of  the  execution  of  General 
Poole 's  threat.    I  do  not  blame  General  Poole  for  feel- 
ing that  way,  but  if  he  made  the  threat,  which  I  do  not 
believe,  it  was  indiscreet.    I  have  been  satisfied  from 
subsequent  developments  as  well  as  from  what  I  heard 
at  the  time  of  cabling  you,  that  it  was  the  intention  of 
the  Soviet  Government  at  Moscow  to  hold  us  Allied 
diplomats  as  hostages  at  Archangel  when  we  arrived  the 
first  time  and  remained  there  two  days  before  leaving 
for  Kandalaksha.    The  reason  why  we  were  not  detained 
was  because  the  local  Soviet  knew  that  a  revolution  was 
brewing  here  and  feared  it  would  be  successful  with  the 
aid  of  Allied  forces,  who  were  reported  as  coming  from 
Murmansk  for  days  before  they  left  that  place,  July  31st. 
"I  think  I  did  not  write  you  or  cable  that  the  Moscow 
Central  Soviet  ordered  the  Siberian  Government  to  ar- 


284    EUSSIA  FROM  THE  AMERICAN  EMBASSY 

rest  the  Japanese  Ambassador  Uchida  (now  Minister  of 
Foreign  Affairs  in  Japan),  when  he  left  me  at  Vologda, 
March  4th  and  started  for  Vladivostok.  The  Siberian 
Government  replied  that  they  would  not  arrest  the  Japa- 
nese Ambassador,  because  they  feared  it  would  bring  the 
Japanese  army  in  Siberia.  These  Bolsheviks  have  per- 
sistently endeavored  by  special  favors  and  hypocritical 
expressions  of  friendship  to  American  representatives 
to  create  discord  between  the  Allies.  They  are  in 
my  opinion  German  agents  and  have  been  from  the 
beginning. 

"As  cabled  you  yesterday,  if  the  American  troops  had 
not  arrived  when  they  did  this  Government  of  the  North 
would  have  been  overthrown  and  a  civil  war  in  the  rear 
of  our  front,  which  would  have  been  the  result,  would 
have  left  the  few  British  and  French  soldiers  on  the 
Dvina  and  on  the  railroad  toward  Vologda  completely  at 
the  mercy  of  the  Bolsheviks,  and  we  diplomatic  repre- 
sentatives would  have  been  forced  to  leave  Russia.  As 
General  Poole  stated  to  me,  before  the  arrival  of  the 
4,500  American  soldiers,  he  was  playing  a  great  game  of 
bluff;  he  had  less  than  2,000  soldiers  all  told.  If  the 
Allied  forces  had  numbered  50,000  when  they  first  landed, 
they  could  have  advanced  to  Vologda,  could  have  taken 
Kotlas  and  possibly  Viatka,  but  now  the  Bolsheviks  have 
had  time  to  get  reenforcements  and  are  commanded  by 
German  officers,  who  are  directing  them  how  to  offer 
spirited  resistance.  Only  four  American  soldiers  have 
been  killed  in  battle,  but  about  sixty  have  been  wounded 
and  brought  back  to  Archangel." 

Personal  letters  written  by  me  from  Archangel  give 
possibly  more  detailed  and  intimate  descriptions  of  the 
confusing  situation  than  do  the  official  reports. 

To  Thomas  H.  West,  St.  Louis,  in  a  letter  dated 
Archangel,  August  27th,  I  wrote : 


ARCHANGEL  285 

"This  letter  is  written  from  Archangel  and  is  dictated 
from  my  bed.  My  colleagues  come  to  my  apartment,  as 
do  members  of  the  new  government  and  the  British  Gen- 
eral and  the  Military  Governor  also.  I  am  determined, 
as  Mr.  Britling  said,  'to  see  it  through'  even  although 
it  may  cause  a  shortening  of  my  life,  which  I  hope  it 
will  not  do.  But  if  it  did,  I  would  be  willing  to  remain 
here  if  I  thought  I  could  best  serve  my  country  by  doing 
so.  My  whole  heart  and  soul  is  in  this  war,  and  I  am 
hoping  and  praying  that  I  may  be  spared  to  see  Germany 

defeated. 

"At  Murmansk  I  received  newspapers  from  America 
for  six  months  back,  and  although  I  have  not  been  able  to 
read  them  carefully,  have  gathered  therein  information 
that  is  very  gratifying  to  me,  and  that  is  that  our  people 
are  aroused  and  determined  to  succeed  in  this  struggle 
which  is  one  between  force  and  humanity,  between  autoc- 
racy and  democracy,  between  feudalism  and  civilization, 
between  the  old  and  the  new,  in  fact  a  struggle  between 
the  old  theory  of  classes  and  the  new  and  broadening, 
principles  of  Christianity;  a  struggle  between  slavery 
and  freedom,  between  a  favored  few  who  think  they  can 
exploit  their  fellows,  by  their  own  superiority  if  not  by 
divine  right  on  the  one  side,  and  individual  responsi- 
bility to  God  and  society  on  the  other.  I  feel  that  if 
Germany  is  successful  in  this  war,  not  only  will  our  liber- 
ties in  America  be  jeopardized  and  all  of  our  principles 
subverted,  but  that  this  world  will  not  be  a  desirable 
place  for  an  intelligent  freeman  to  live  in." 

On  the  29th  of  August,  1918,  I  wrote  from  Archangel 
to  Festus  J.  Wade  of  St.  Louis  a  letter  describing  the 
conditions  then  existing  in  Northern  Russia, 

"The  situation  here  is  critical.  Cable  communication 
is  very  irregular  and  unreliable,  and  connection  with 
Moscow,  Petrograd,  Vologda  and  Siberia  is  absolutely 


286    RUSSIA  FROM  THE  AMERICAN  EMBASSY 

severed.  The  new  government  in  the  saddle  here  is  sin- 
cere but  not  strong.  I  am  having  difficulty  in  lessening 
the  friction  between  the  Military  Governor,  a  Britisher, 
General  Poole,  and  the  new  civil  government.  None  of 
the  Allied  governments  have  yet  recognized  this  '  Sover- 
eign Government  of  the  Northern  Regions'  as  it  calls 
itself,  but  its  principles  are  correct,  and  that  is  more 
than  could  at  any  time  have  been  said  of  the  Bolshevik 
Government.  The  new  government  is  attempting  to  or- 
ganize an  army  with  which  to  fight  Germany,  and  it  has 
the  sincere  motive  of  attempting  to  resurrect  Russia. 
At  the  same  time  it  has  its  enemies  in  Russia,  the  Bolshe- 
viks and  the  Monarchists  are  persistently  endeavoring  to 
undermine  and  overthrow  it.  As  I  said  to  the  President 
of  the  new  government,  Tchaikovsky,  in  a  conversation 
a  few  days  ago,  'The  situation  at  Archangel  is  anoma- 
lous, unprecedented,  difficult  and  delicate.'  American 
representatives  here  are  less  disliked  than  the  represent- 
atives of  any  other  foreign  country.  There  is  some  prej- 
udice against  the  Allied  governments,  as  their  objects 
are  suspected.  It  is  believed  by  some  Russians,  and  they 
are  a  suspicious  race,  that  England,  France  and  Japan 
are  planning  to  subordinate  the  resources  and  the  man 
power  of  Russia  to  their  own  interests,  and  the  Bolshe- 
viks are  doing  all  in  their  power  to  foster  this  suspicion. 
Thanks  to  the  expressions  of  our  President  and  the 
American  Ambassador  in  Russia  to  a  limited  and  less 
extent,  our  objects  are  not  considered  selfish.  Lenin  and 
Trotzky  called  the  American  Government  imperialistic 
and  capitalistic  and  all  Bolshevik  orators  do  likewise, 
and  find  thousands  of  hearers  who  believe  them,  as  it  is 
difficult  for  Europeans  to  understand  why  a  people  thou- 
sands of  miles  away  are  interfering  in  affairs  which  do 
not  affect  their  material  welfare.  It  has  been  very  dif- 
ficult to  make  clear  to  them  that  America  is  unselfishly 


ARCHANGEL  287 

fighting  for  a  principle,  for  humanity,  for  civilization, 
for  society  itself  as  it  should  be  constituted.  I  flatter 
myself  that  I  have  made  some  impression  on  the  Russian 
people  by  the  addresses  I  have  issued  and  the  interviews 
I  have  given.  All  that  I  have  said  and  done,  however, 
cannot  be  compared  with  the  utterances  of  President 
Wilson,  whose  speeches  and  messages  I  have  assiduously 
circulated  and  with  good  effect.  I  must  close  now  as  the 
Financial  Adviser  of  the  British  Embassy  is  waiting  for 
me  in  an  outer  room.  I  hear  him  coughing  as  if  he  were 
impatient." 

In  a  letter  to  Breckinridge  Jones  of  St.  Louis,  dated 
Archangel,  September  4,  1918,  I  wrote  of  the  confusion 
and  difficulties  attending  the  establishment  of  govern- 
ment in  Russia: 

"The  British  Empire  was  not  diplomatically  repre- 
sented in  Russia  from  February  to  July,  when  on  the 
7th  or  10th  of  that  month  F.  0.  Lindley,  who  had  been 
Charge  after  the  departure  of  Sir  George  Buchanan  in 
January,  came  to  Vologda.  The  Allied  forces  here, 
numbering  only  about  3,000  are  under  the  command  of  a 
British  General,  named  Poole.  About  4,000  American 
soldiers  are  expected  to-morrow,  but  the  State  Depart- 
ment has  not  advised  me  specifically  of  their  coming. 
Reconciling  their  presence  with  our  Government 's  decla- 
ration of  Russian  policy  is  a  delicate  task.  The  British 
and  French  are  impatient  with  the  Russians  and  have 
lost  patience  with  the  latter 's  ability  to  govern  them- 
selves. The  new  government  here,  calling  itself  '  Sover- 
eign Government  of  the  Northern  Region*  has  an  exag- 
gerated judgment  of  its  importance  and  power  and  is 
constantly  complaining  to  me  of  the  encroachments  of 
the  military  on  the  civil  prerogatives.  I  am  Dean  of  the 
Diplomatic  Corps,  by  reason  of  being  longest  in  service 
as  Ambassador,  and  have  my  hands  full  in  endeavoring 


288    RUSSIA  FROM  THE  AMERICAN  EMBASSY 

to  reconcile  these  discordant  elements.  The  new  govern- 
ment, it  is  true,  has  declared  that  it  does  not  recognize 
the  Brest-Litovsk  peace  and  is  attempting  to  mobilize  an 
army  with  which  to  fight  Germany.  I  had  to  tell  the 
President  a  few  days  ago  in  answer  to  some  grievance  he 
presented  that  if  the  Allied  forces  should  withdraw  from 
Archangel,  the  officials  of  the  new  government  would  be 
driven  into  the  Arctic  Ocean,  if  they  escaped  being  killed 
by  the  Red  Guard  of  the  Bolsheviks.  This  is  not  the 
only  menace  of  the  new  government;  officials  of  that 
government  are  Socialists  and  are  considered  by  the 
Monarchists  as  little  better  than  the  Bolsheviks,  conse- 
quently the  Monarchists  are  constantly  attempting  to 
undermine  the  Sovereign  Government  of  the  Northern 
Region  and  to  supplant  it  with  a  dictatorship." 

On  the  first  of  October,  1918,  I  wrote  to  my  son 
Charles : 

"My  request  for  additional  American  troops  to  come 
to  Archangel  has  not  met  with  favor.  In  fact,  I  am  in 
receipt  of  a  cable,  dated  September  26th,  stating,  'You 
are  advised  that  no  more  American  troops  will  be  sent 
to  the  northern  ports  of  Russia.'  The  same  cable  con- 
tains the  following:  'The  course  that  you  have  followed 
is  most  earnestly  commended.  It  has  the  entire  admira- 
tion of  the  President,  who  has  characterized  it  as  being 
thoroughly  American.  I  highly  approve  of  your  actions. 
They  have  been  very  consistent  and  have  been  guided  by 
a  very  sound  judgment,  exercised  under  the  most  trying 
and  complicated  circumstances.'  Of  course,  this  is  con- 
fidential. I  replied,  'Thanks  for  personal  commendation 
but  am  not  resting  on  past  efforts, ' — and  then  went  on  to 
say  that  I  did  not  despair  of  inducing  the  Russians  to 
form  a  republic." 

In  a  letter  of  September  23rd  from  Archangel  to  Miss 
Isabel  F.  Hapgood,  Atlantic  City,  who  visited  Russia 


ARCHANGEL  289 

while  the  Boot  Commission  was  in  Petrograd,  and  who 
took  great  interest  in  Russian  affairs,  I  wrote  of  the  fate 
of  the  Czar,  giving  the  official  information  which  had 
come  to  me  direct  from  the  American  Consulate  at 
Ekaterinburg. 

V,  '  *  The  Emperor  was  shot  by  the  Bolsheviks  on  the  16th 
of  July,  last,  after  having  been  removed  from  Tobolsk 
to  Ekaterinburg.  He  was  killed  by  order  of  the  local 
Soviet,  whose  action  was  subsequently  approved  by  the 
Central  Soviet  at  Moscow.  A  courier  from  the  Ameri- 
can Consul  at  Ekaterinburg  to  myself,  who  left  Ekaterin- 
burg August  2nd,  and  after  many  vicissitudes  arrived  in 
Archangel,  August  24th,  told  me  that  the  Emperor  was 
shot  July  16th,  but  nobody  knew  it  until  July  18th,  when 
it  was  officially  announced.  He  said  that  the  disposition 
of  the  body  was  not  known  but  the  rumor  was  that  it  had 
been  thrown  into  a  coal  mine  and  burned.  He  said  that 
the  members  of  the  Red  Guard  or  Red  Army  who  were 
ordered  to  shoot  the  Emperor  refused  to  do  so,  and  a 
detachment  of  Lettish  soldiers  was  ordered  to  shoot  him, 
but  when  they  found  it  was  the  Emperor,  they  declined 
to  shoot,  and  thereupon  the  local  Commissar  himself  shot 
him.  The  killing  of  the  Emperor,  whom  the  people  of 
Russia  once  looked  upon  with  affection  and  reverence  as 
the  'Little  Father,'  aroused  no  resentment  on  the  part  of 
the  people  whatever..  In  fact,  it  was  forgotten  within  a 
I  short  time — so  accustomed  have  these  people  become  to 
Y  \killing." 

Of  events  at  Vologda,  following  our  departure  on  July 
25th,  a  letter  sent  from  Stockholm,  September  12th,  to 
me  at  Archangel  by  Norman  Armour,  the  Second  Secre- 
tary of  the  American  Embassy  whom  I  left  in  charge  at 
Vologda,  gave  the  following  account : 

"After  receiving  your  telegram  instructing  me  to  re- 
main in  Vologda,  until  it  should  be  possible  to  join  you, 


290    RUSSIA  FROM  THE  AMERICAN  EMBASSY 

I  went  to  the  Soviet  and  explained  to  Vitoshkin,  as  Presi- 
dent of  the  Extraordinary  Revolutionary  Committee, 
that  I  had  received  orders  from  you  to  stay.  Things 
went  all  right  for  three  days,  when  suddenly  we  were 
ordered  by  an  officer  sent  by  Kedroff  to  leave  town  imme- 
diately for  Moscow.  I  flatly  refused,  saying  that  having 
twenty  nationals  I  should  have  to  remain  in  order  to 
protect  them.  If  it  was  dangerous  for  me  to  remain  it 
was  equally  dangerous  for  them.  However,  Kedroff  re- 
fused to  see  this  point  of  view  and  a  train  was  prepared 
and  we  were  told  to  go  on  board.  Upon  our  again  refus- 
ing, troops  entered  the  Embassy  during  the  night  (the 
French,  as  you  know,  had  already  moved  into  our  build- 
ing) and  forced  us  to  enter  an  automobile,  which  took  us 
to  the  station,  and  put  us  on  board  the  train.  On  the 
train  was  a  guard  of  ten  soldiers.  Before  our  depar- 
ture, we  were  informed  by  the  Commissar  of  War  that 
our  train  would  stop  40  versts  away  where  we  could 
await  our  nationals.  Contrary  to  this  promise,  the  train 
continued  to  Daniloff,  from  which  station  I  sent  a  tele- 
gram to  the  Commissar  of  War,  telling  him  he  had  broken 
his  word  and  demanding  the  train  to  remain  there.  He 
complied  with  this  request,  and  I  was  able  three  days 
later  to  see  the  Y.M.C.A.  and  National  City  Bank  pass 
through  safely. " 

Secretary  Armour  requested  to  remain  with  me  upon 
my  leaving  Petrograd.  He  is  at  the  present  Secretary 
of  the  American  Legation  at  The  Hague.  I  saw  him  in 
London  when  I  was  confined  in  the  hospital  there,  imme- 
diately before  he  returned  to  Stockholm,  where  he  mar- 
ried the  Russian  Princess  Koudachev. 

I  was  confined  to  my  apartment  in  Archangel  during 
almost  my  entire  stay  in  that  city,  and  in  my  bed  the  most 
of  the  time.  Five  surgeons,  who  were  called  in,  two 
Americans,  two  British,  and  a  French-Russian,  agreed 


ARCHANGEL  291 

upon  the  diagnosis  of  my  ailment  and  said  it  required  a 
major  surgical  operation  for  my  relief.  I  said  to  them, 
"Perform  it  here  and  now."  But  they  refused.  After 
suffering  ten  or  twelve  days  longer,  I  advised  the  State 
Department  of  my  condition  and  of  my  exasperation  at 
the  surgeons  for  refusing  to  perform  the  surgical  opera- 
tion. The  Department  replied  in  a  very  complimentary 
cable,  which  is  set  forth  in  the  Introduction,  and  a  sub- 
sequent cable  informed  me  that  it  had  obtained  the  con- 
sent of  Admiral  Sims  and  Secretary  Daniels  to  send 
the  Olympia  for  me.  The  cruiser  arrived  on  the 
28th  of  October,  under  command  of  Rear  Admiral 
McCully  and  Captain  Bierer,  but  was  held  in  the  Archan- 
gel harbor  until  the  6th  of  November,  just  five  days  be- 
fore the  Armistice  was  signed,  when  I  was  carried  on 
board  on  a  stretcher,  borne  by  eight  sailors. 

Terestchenko,  former  Minister  of  Finance  and  Minis- 
ter of  Foreign  Affairs  in  the  Provisional  Government, 
came  to  Archangel  and  dined  with  me  twice.  He  was 
going  under  the  name  of  Titoff.  He  came  from  Stock- 
holm, having  gone  there  from  Norway,  where  he  had 
been  living  quietly  with  a  peasant  since  his  release  from 
prison  in  Petrograd,  about  March  4th.  He  was  attempt- 
ing to  join  Kolchak,  traveling  as  a  courier  of  Goul- 
kevitch,  the  Russian  Minister  to  Sweden.  He  was  de- 
cidedly anti-German  and  pro-Ally  in  his  feelings,  but 
like  most  Russians  was  suspicious  of  the  intentions  of 
the  British.  He  thoroughly  approved  of  the  American 
policy,  and  told  me  at  our  second  meeting  that  while  liv- 
ing in  Archangel  incognito  he  had  seen  many  of  his 
bourgeoisie  friends  and  was  pleased  to  inform  me  that 
not  only  the  local  government,  but  the  people  generally 
considered  the  American  Ambassador  the  best  friend 
they  had  in  the  Diplomatic  Corps.  He  told  me  that 
he  and  Kerensky  were  not  friends,  or  did  not  agree 


292    RUSSIA  FROM  THE  AMERICAN  EMBASSY 

in  their  policies  after  the  Korniloff  affair.  He  further- 
more assured  me  that  about  August  1st,  1917,  he  re- 
ceived advantageous  peace  proposals  from  Germany; 
that  he  showed  them  to  no  one  in  the  Ministry  except 
Kerensky  and  gave  Kerensky  the  credit  of  siding  with 
him  against  a  separate  peace.  He  was  very  proud  of  his 
position  on  that  issue  and  claimed  credit  therefor,  cor- 
i  ectly  saying  that  if  Russia  had  concluded  a  peace  at 
that  time,  four  months  after  America  entered  the  war, 
ihe  Central  Empires  would  have  been  able  to  concen- 
trate their  strength  against  the  Allied  armies  before 
America  could  transport  troops  to  France.  If  this  was 
true,  and  I  have  no  reason  to  doubt  it,  the  course  of 
Terestchenko,  supported  by  Kerensky,  not  only  brought 
the  war  to  an  earlier  end  than  it  would  otherwise  have 
bad,  but  it  cost  the  Allies  less  blood  and  far  less  treasure. 
I  always  had  faith  in  the  sincerity  and  loyalty  of  Teres- 
tchenko. He  is  a  more  practical  man  than  Kerensky, 
and  is  much  more  highly  esteemed  in  Russia. 

The  reasons  which  inspired  Terestchenko  to  reject  the 
proposal  of  the  Central  Empires  for  a  separate  peace 
were  the  same  reasons  that  inspired  me  to  sustain  the 
Provisional  Government  to  the  extent  of  my  influence,  be- 
cause I  knew  that  when  the  Bolsheviks  came  into  power 
they  would  withdraw  Russia  from  the  conflict  and  thereby 
permit  Germany  and  Austria  to  send  their  forces  on  the 
Eastern  front  to  the  Western  front.  It  is  possible  that 
our  Government's  recognition  of  the  Provisional  Gov- 
ernment on  my  recommendation  perpetuated  the  Provi- 
sional Government  during  its  administration  of  affairs. 
If  the  Provisional  Government  had  been  shorter-lived, 
Germany  would  have  sent  105  divisions  to  the  Western 
front  sooner  than  they  were  sent,  and  that  would  have 
been  before  Pershing  and  his  men  could  have  gotten  to 
France  from  America. 


ARCHANGEL  293 

In  my  Archangel  cables  of  October  to  the  Department 
of  State,  I  reported  in  detail  the  friction  existing  among 
the  different  forces  there  and  especially  the  attitude  of 
the  British,  who  were  inclined  to  be  overbearing,  and 
who  attempted  to  conduct  all  affairs  in  the  Archangel 
region  according  to  their  own  ideas.  The  State  Depart- 
ment informed  me  that  General  Poole  had  been  cautioned 
regarding  his  policy  in  Russia,  and  to  keep  in  touch  with 
me.  Immediately  following  receipt  of  this  cable  from 
the  Department,  I  noticed  a  change  in  the  General's  atti- 
tude. However,  it  was  reported  to  me  that  he  was  going 
to  England  and  would  not  return  unless  I  was  removed 
or  recalled  from  Archangel,  and  that  that  was  one  of  the 
objects  of  his  visit  to  England. 

Under  date  of  October  19,  1918, 1  cabled  from  Archan- 
gel to  the  Department : 

"The  general  conduct  and  bearing  of  all  British  repre- 
sentatives, military  and  civil,  at  Archangel  and  Mur- 
mansk indicate  a  belief  or  feeling  on  their  part  that  if 
they  do  not  have  exclusive  privileges  at  these  ports,  they 
should  have,  and  they  will  not  be  contented  with  not 
having  a  decided  advantage.  Every  move  on  their  part 
indicates  a  desire  to  gain  a  strong  foothold.  There  were 
20,000  tons  of  flax  in  Archangel  and  the  British,  after 
stating  to  the  French  and  our  representatives  that  we 
should  not  compete  therefor  and  thus  advance  the  price 
to  unreasonable  figures,  and  after  we  consented  thereto, 
contracted  for  the  entire  holdings  of  the  cooperatives. 
Three  thousand  tons  were  apportioned  to  us,  and  as  the 
same  is  shipped  Captain  Proctor,  the  British  represent- 
ative, demands  payment  for  purchase  shall  be  in  pound 
sterling  in  London, — notwithstanding  shipments  are 
made  to  America,  and  the  cooperatives  or  the  sellers  wish 
and  request  payments  to  be  made  in  dollars  in  America. 
At  this  writing  I  have  instructed  Consul  Poole  and 
Berg's  representative  (Berg  is  making  purchases  for  a 
linen  thread  company  of  America)  to  inform  the  coopera- 


294    RUSSIA  FROM  THE  AMERICAN  EMBASSY 

tives  and  Captain  Proctor  that  the  sellers  of  this  flax 
when  shipped  to  America  can  receive  purchase  money 
in  dollars  in  America. 

"I  cabled  you  that  Lieut.  Hugh  S.  Martin,  our  repre- 
sentative at  Murmansk,  had  sent  me  confidential  infor- 
mation by  Crawford  Wheeler,  ranking  Secretary  of  the 
Y.  M.  C.  A.  in  Russia,  that  he  had  proof  the  British  were 
attempting  to  negotiate  commercial  treaties  of  an  exclu- 
sive, preferential  character  with  the  Russians  at  Mur- 
mansk. I  cannot  believe  this  is  true,  but  am  waiting  the 
arrival  of  Lieut.  Martin  before  making  up  my  mind  on 
the  subject.  The  British  have  been  experienced  in  inter- 
national commerce  for  centuries  and  consequently 
they  have  the  advantage  over  others  who  have  less 
experience." 

Under  date  of  October  18th,  1918, 1  cabled  the  Depart- 
ment of  State,  as  follows : 

''General  Ironsides,  the  successor  of  General  Poole, 
dined  with  me  last  evening;  he  told  me  he  had  made  two 
or  three  quick  tours  of  inspection  to  the  fronts,  and 
while  he  realized  that  the  soldiers  on  both  fronts  should 
have  more  relief  than  he  is  able  to  give  them,  on  account 
of  the  small  number  of  soldiers  at  his  disposal,  he  had 
arranged  that  each  company  at  the  front  should  spend 
eight  days  in  the  month  in  Archangel.  Acting  Naval 
Attache  Riis  returned  from  the  railroad  front  and  re- 
ported that  American  soldiers  there  were  very  dissatis- 
fied and  the  French  were  more  so.  The  French,  having 
heard  that  there  was  an  armistice,  had  openly  declared 
that  they  would  not  fight  any  more  in  Russia  if  the 
hostilities  had  ceased  in  France,  because  they  did  not  see 
why  they  should  fight  for  British  interests  in  Russia. 
The  American  soldiers  and  officers  were  partially  innocu- 
lated  with  the  same  sentiment,  but  Riis  told  them  that  no 
armistice  had  been  agreed  upon  and  hostilities  had  not 
ceased. 

"General  Ironsides  is  six  feet  four  inches  tall  without 
shoes,  weighs  270  pounds,  and  is  only  thirty-seven  years 
old.  He  is  descended  direct  from  the  last  Saxon  king  of 


ARCHANGEL  295 

England,  was  dismissed  from  St.  Andrew's  School  when 
he  was  ten  and  one-half  years  old  because  he  whipped 
the  teacher.  He  was  the  first  British  officer  to  land  in 
France;  in  fact  he  landed  qn  the  night  of  August  2nd, 
before  England  had  entered  the  war,  on  August  6th.  He 
was  in  command  of  a  division  on  the  French  front,  when 
he  was  ordered  to  Russia.  He  relinquished  his  command 
and  cleared  in  an  aeroplane  for  England.  After  a  flight 
of  three  and  one-half  hours  he  landed  somewhere  in 
England,  spent  three  days  acquainting  himself  with  Rus- 
sian conditions  and  arrived  in  Archangel  September 
20th;  he  does  everything  that  way.  He  speaks  six  lan- 
guages with  equal  fluency — English,  French,  Russian, 
German,  Italian,  Swedish,  and  can  converse  although  not 
fluently  in  eleven  other  languages.  In  other  words,  he 
has  studied  seventeen  languages,  and  has  mastered  six 
of  them  sufficiently  to  be  able  to  converse  therein  flu- 
ently and  grammatically.  He  told  me  that  the  War 
Office  had  turned  down  his  request  or  appeal  for  per- 
mission to  transfer  5,000  or  6,000  troops  from  Murmansk 
to  Archangel,  but  he  said  that  while  greatly  disappointed 
thereat  he  was  making  the  best  of  the  troops  under  his 
command,  few  as  they  are/' 

Under  date  of  October  23rd,  1918,  I  cabled  the  De- 
partment : 

11  General  Ironsides  seems  to  have  impressed  every- 
body favorably.  President  Tchaikovsky  told  me  he  was 
pleased  with  General  Ironsides,  and  believed  him  to  be 
a  sincere  man  and  more  disposed  than  his  predecessor 
was  to  respect  the  rights  of  the  civil  government.  Gen- 
eral Ironsides  told  me  that  he  was  encouraging  in  every 
way  the  mobilization  of  an  army  by  the  Archangel  Gov- 
ernment, and  President  Tchaikovsky  confirmed  this  by 
saying  that  he  was  experiencing  less  difficulty  in  procur- 
ing clothing  and  supplies  for  the  mobilized  army  since 
General  Ironsides  came.  General  Poole  or  his  staff  were 
delaying  honoring  such  requests  with  the  view  to  forcing 
into  the  British-Slav  legion  all  men  desiring  to  enlist." 

Almost  my  last  act  before  I  was  taken  on  board  the 


296    RUSSIA  FROM  THE  AMERICAN  EMBASSY 

Olympia,  was  to  issue  an  address  to  the  American  sol- 
diers in  North  Russia  in  which  I  gave  a  short  account 
of  the  work  they  had  done,  the  hardships  they  had  suf- 
fered, the  illness  and  deaths  among  the  men,  calling 
attention  to  their  splendid  response  in  spite  of  all  these 
difficulties  and  expressing  my  appreciation  of  their  spirit 
of  service  and  sacrifice  with  which  they  had  performed 
every  duty.  I  said: 

"I  trust  you  do  not  underestimate  the  importance  of 
the  service  you  are  performing  as  American  soldiers  in 
Russia.  Our  Government  has  no  desire  for  territorial 
conquest  anywhere,  especially  in  Russia,  in  whose  wel- 
fare and  integrity  President  Wilson  has  repeatedly  as- 
sured the  world  of  his  deep  and  abiding  interest.  .  .  . 
President  Wilson  reflects  the  views  and  feelings  of  the 
American  people  when  he  says  he  proposes  to  stand  by 
Russia.  Regardless  of  sympathy  with  the  people  who 
have  been  oppressed  for  centuries,  if  the  Allies  had  con- 
sented for  Germany  to  appropriate  Russia,  German 
methods  would  have  begun  immediately  to  organize  the 
immense  man  power  of  this  country  and  to  develop  itself 
immeasurable  resources  in  preparation  for  another  effort 
to  establish  Deutschland  tTber  Alles.  .  .  . 

"The  Bolsheviks,  who  control  the  Soviet  Government, 
are  completely  under  the  domination  of  Germany  and 
consequently  in  resisting  them  you  are  not  only  perform- 
ing a  humanitarian  service  but  you  are  preventing  Ger- 
many from  securing  a  much  stronger  foothold  in  Russia 
than  she  has  up  to  this  time  been  able  to  establish.  Your 
service  is  as  important  as  that  which  any  American 
soldiers  or  Allied  troops  are  performing  anywhere.  I 
have  no  doubt  that  you  would  prefer  to  be  in  France  or 
in  Italy,  but  like  soldiers  you  are  performing  the  duty 
to  which  you  are  assigned  and  are  entitled  to  all  the  more 
credit  therefor." 


CHAPTER  XIX 
ALLIED  POLICIES  IN  RUSSIA 

In  December,  1917,  the  Bolsheviks  in  a  series  of  decrees 
began  to  develop  their  strange  financial  policies.  These 
decrees  declared  the  banking  business  to  be  a  "monopoly 
of  the  government,"  instructed  all  proprietors  of  safes 
in  safe  deposit  institutions  to  present  themselves  immedi- 
ately with  their  keys  "in  order  to  be  present  at  the  revi- 
sion of  the  safes,"  otherwise  all  property  contained 
therein  would  be  confiscated  and  become  the  property  of 
the  nation.  Later  decrees  announced  the  cancelation  of 
all  loans  contracted  by  former  Russian  governments,  all 
guarantees  for  these  loans,  and  all  loans  made  from 
abroad.  There  were  nine  other  decrees :  nationalization 
of  land,  of  factories  and  works,  of  banks  (including  the 
opening  of  all  safe  deposit  boxes) ;  the  suspension  of 
payment  of  all  bond  coupons;  taxation  amounting  to 
,  confiscation  of  buildings,  whether  or  not  belonging  to 
foreigners ;  annulment  of  all  loans ;  confiscation  of  shares 
of  stock  in  former  private  banks ;  and  nationalization  or 
confiscation  of  every  ship  belonging  to  private  individ- 
uals or  corporations. 

The  diplomatic  corps  was  unanimous  with  the  excep- 
tion of  myself,  in  approving  a  protest  to  the  Bolshevik 
government  against  all  these  decrees.  I  believed  that 
with  the  decrees  pertaining  to  domestic  affairs  we  had 
nothing  to  do  and  consequently  we  should  not  protest  in 
the  form  proposed.  As  for  the  decree  abolishing  debts  to 
foreigners,  or  to  foreign  countries  or  interfering  with  the 
property  rights  of  our  nationals,  I  was  willing  to  join 
in  the  protest. 


298    RUSSIA  FROM  THE  AMERICAN  EMBASSY 

Finally  a  protest  was  agreed  upon  by  all  of  us  and 
served  on  the  Soviet  Government.  This  protest  stated 
that  we  regarded  the  repudiation  of  state  debts,  confis- 
cation of  property,  etc.,  in  so  far  as  they  concerned  the 
interests  of  foreign  subjects,  as  non-existent  and  that  our 
governments  reserved  the  right  to  demand  satisfaction 
for  all  damage  or  loss  which  may  be  caused  foreign  states 
in  general  and  their  subjects  who  live  in  Russia  in  par- 
ticular, by  the  operation  of  these  decrees. 

On  the  2nd  of  May,  1918,  I  cabled  the  State  Depart- 
ment that  the  time  had  come  for  the  Allies  to  intervene 
in  Russia,  and  gave  my  reasons  in  detail : 

"In  my  opinion  the  time  has  arrived  for  Allied  inter- 
vention. I  had  hoped  Soviet  Government  would  so  re- 
quest and  have  discreetly  worked  to  that  end. 

"First,  by  remaining  here  with  the  approval  of  the 
Department  when  other  Allied  Missions  had  departed. 

* '  Second,  by  fostering  friendly  business  relations  with 
the  Bolsheviks  and  allowing  Robins  to  remain  in  Moscow 
for  that  purpose — this  although  Summers  objected,  say- 
ing he  was  humiliated  thereby. 

"Third,  by  taking  position  against  Japanese  inter- 
vening alone. 

"Fourth,  by  suggesting  and  arranging  for  Allied  mili- 
tary advice  in  forming  new  army;  as  stated  to  you  I 
was  confident  I  would  be  able  at  proper  time  to  influence 
such  army;  I  also  persuaded  my  French  and  Italian 
Colleagues  to  permit  their  military  chiefs  to  cooperate. 
This  movement,  however,  had  not  been  carried  into  effect 
when  your  cable  was  received  prohibiting  its  execution 
until  advised  of  the  object  for  which  the  new  army  was 
to  be  organized;  that  object  was  never  varied  from  Trot- 
zky's  first  statement  that  it  was  to  defend  and  promote 
the  world-wide  social  revolution  not  only  against  existing 
monarchies  but  against  our  government  also. 

"Fifth.  I  requested  that  six  railroad  units  be  sent  to 
Vologda  for  consultation  with  me  and  an  experienced 


ALLIED  POLICIES  IN  RUSSIA 

Soviet  Railroad  official.  Stevens  at  first  wired  he  was 
sending  six  units  and  I  so  advised  the  Soviet  Govern- 
ment, but  later  Stevens  having  opposed  the  sending  of 
any  men  whatever  these  units  were  not  directed  to  come 
and  I  was  embarrassed  by  having  to  explain  to  Trotzky 
through  Robins  and  Riggs  their  failure  to  come  as 
promised.  I  later  asked  that  Emerson  be  instructed  to 
bring  three  able  engineers  to  Vologda  and  you  replied 
April  24th  that  Emerson  had  been  ordered  to  come  or 
send  Goldsmith  and  advise  me  of  their  leaving  Harbin. 
Receiving  no  advice  from  Harbin  of  the  departure  of 
Emerson,  I  did  not  advise  Trotzky  or  the  Soviet  thereof, 
fearing  I  might  be  again  embarrassed.  I  am  not  com- 
plaining or  criticizing  Department  action  concerning 
military  and  railroad  matters  but  merely  stating  facts. 

' '  Sixth.  I  have  in  every  way  encouraged  international 
commercial  relations  between  America  and  Russian 
merchants  while  throwing  around  the  same  proper 
safeguards. 

"I  was  ill  nine  days,  from  April  19th  to  April  28th, 
possibly  from  ptomaine  poisoning,  by  which  I  was  greatly 
weakened,  being  confined  to  my  room  if  not  to  my  bed, 
but  I  never  ceased  to  work  or  lost  spirit;  am  fully 
recovered  now. 

"Seventh.  I  informed  the  Soviet  Government  of  the 
Department's  action  concerning  Chinese  Embargo  and 
ignored  the  offensive  prohibition  issued  to  American 
Consul  at  Irkutsk  concerning  cipher  messages  and  over- 
looked the  demand  for  recall  of  the  American  Consul  at 
Vladivostok  notwithstanding  there  were  no  evidences 
that  he  was  guilty  of  charges  made  which  if  proven  were 
not  incriminating.  I  furthermore  paid  no  attention  to 
the  demand  of  the  Soviet  Government  to  define  the 
American  view  of  the  landing  of  Japanese  and  British 
marines  at  Vladivostok  but  gave  two  carefully  worded 
interviews  on  the  subject.  I  have  herein  made  a  hasty 
resume  of  my  policy  since  arriving  in  Vologda. 

"Am  not  aware  of  the  Department's  view  concerning 
Allied  intervention,  while  knowing  American  and  Rus- 
sian opposition  to  exclusively  Japanese  invasion  which 
I  heartily  endorse.  Last  information  on  this  subject 


300    RUSSIA  FROM  THE  AMERICAN  EMBASSY 

received  by  me  was  from  the  Ambassador  at  Tokio  and 
was  to  the  effect  that  Japan  would  not  intervene  against 
our  wishes.  Since  then  Motono  has  resigned  but  if  our 
Japanese  policy  has  been  altered  I  am  not  advised.  It 
is  possible  that  Japan  may  not  intervene  without  being 
compensated  but  any  reasonable  compensation  other 
than  territorial  if  demanded  by  Japan  I  think  should  be 
granted. 

"I  fully  realize  the  import  of  this  recommendation 
which  is  given  now  for  the  following  reasons : 

"  First.  Germany  through  Mirbach  is  dominating  and 
controlling  Bolshevik  Government  and  Mirbach  is  prac- 
tical dictator  as  all  differences  even  between  Russians 
are  referred  to  him. 

" Second.  I  call  attention  to  Consulate-General's  No. 
439  of  April  29th,  which  contains  an  account  of  Soviet 
protest  and  appeal  to  Berlin  against  violation  of  Brest 
Treaty  and  contains  also  Mirbach 's  reply  of  April  30th 
that  German  encroachments  would  cease  when  Allies 
evacuated  Murmansk  and  Archangel;  this  last  informa- 
tion was  obtained  through  the  French  Embassy  who  say 
it  was  received  from  Lockhart,  British  Representative 
in  Moscow.  In  my  opinion  such  evacuation  would  be 
very  unwise. 

"Riggs,  just  arrived  from  Moscow,  says  the  Soviet 
Government  won't  oppose  Germany  in  absence  of  Allied 
encouragement  and  is  confident  that  the  Soviet  Govern- 
ment will  approve  Allied  intervention  when  it  knows  the 
same  is  inevitable ;  he  furthermore  says  that  if  the  Mili- 
tary Missions  are  informed  of  the  proposed  interven- 
tion previous  to  occurrence  thereof  the  Missions  can 
probably  influence  Bolsheviks  to  become  reconciled 
thereto.  Possibly  the  Soviet  Government  when  informed 
of  Allied  intervention  would  advise  Germans;  we  must 
take  that  risk.  Riggs  advises  the  Embassy  moving  from 
Vologda  to  Moscow  or  that  a  diplomatic  representative 
be  established  there.  I  do  not  concur  because  I  think  it 
would  result  in  recognizing  Soviet  Government  or  widen- 
ing existing  breach. 

"  Russia  is  passing  through  a  dream  or  orgy  from 
which  it  may  awaken  any  day,  but  the  longer  awakening 


ALLIED  POLICIES  IN  RUSSIA  301 

is  delayed  the  stronger  foothold  will  Germany  acquire. 
Robins  and  probably  Lockhart  also  have  advocated  rec- 
ognition but  the  Department  and  all  Allies  have  persis- 
tently declined  to  recommend  it  and  I  now  feel  that  no 
error  has  been  committed. 

"I  have  postponed  this  recommendation  of  Allied  in- 
tervention not  only  because  I  hoped  the  Soviet  Govern- 
ment would  request  intervention  but  expected  that  the 
Department  would  approve  my  requests  for  purchasing 
supplies  to  prevent  such  falling  into  the  hands  of  Ger- 
many and  also  in  the  hope  that  Russian  people  would 
awaken  from  their  lethargy  and  request  Allies  to  inter- 
vene. Many  organizations  in  Russia  have  informed  the 
Allied  Missions  and  myself  that  Russians  would  welcome 
Allied  intervention  but  whether  such  sentiment  would 
result  in  material  physical  assistance  I  much  doubt  as 
the  Bolshevik  policy  has  been  severe  and  has  inflicted 
death  penalty  upon  all  charged  with  being  counter- 
revolutionary. 

"Lenin  is  the  ablest  intellect  in  the  Bolshevik  party 
and  tyrannizes  the  situation.  In  every  speech  he  calls 
the  Brest-Litovsk  peace  only  a  breathing  spell  and  pre- 
dicts success  of  world-wide  social  revolution,  exulting 
over  the  exhaustion  of  what  he  calls  capitalistic-imperi- 
alistic governments  by  their  bloody  struggle.  In  an 
address  of  April  28th  he  glorified  the  struggle  for  terri- 
torial aggrandizement  and  said  that  by  such  conflict  the 
dictatorship  of  the  proletariat  was  brought  nearer. 
Lenin's  last  utterances  are  devoted  to  what  he  calls  the 
danger  to  the  proletariat  from  small  bourgeois,  as  he 
claims  the  rich  bourgeoisie  are  already  exterminated. 
He  has  said  that  he  was  trying  an  experiment  in  govern- 
ment in  Russia;  is  relentless  and  far-seeing  and  appre- 
ciates the  danger  from  the  middle  classes  and  the  desire 
on  the  part  of  the  peasants  to  own  their  own  homes  and 
till  their  own  soil. 

"Finally  I  doubt  the  policy  of  the  Allies  longer  tem- 
porizing with  a  Government  advocating  the  principles  of 
Bolshevism  and  guilty  of  the  outrages  the  Soviet  Govern- 
ment has  practised. 

"I  await  instructions  or  information." 


On  the  15th  of  May  I  saw  Colonel  Raymond  Robins 
who  was  on  his  way  to  the  United  States.  We  had  a 
private  conversation  of  about  twenty  minutes.  After 
our  conversation  Robins  told  Rennick,  the  Associated 
Press  representative  at  Vologda,  and  a  man  named 
Groves  who  was  one  of  the  employees  of  the  Embassy,  in 
charge  of  the  telegraph  department,  that  if  he  could  get 
one  hour  with  President  Wilson  he  would  persuade  the 
President  to  recognize  the  Bolshevik  government.  He 
made  the  remark,  "I  have  the  goods  on  my  person."  I 
heard  afterwards  that  Colonel  Robins  was  the  courier 
for  the  Soviet  Government  of  proposals  to  our  govern- 
ment to  grant  us  the  same  concessions,  privileges,  and 
advantages  that  it  had  been  forced  to  grant  Germany  in 
the  Brest-Litovsk  treaty. 

I  received  no  reply  to  my  May  2nd  cable,  recommend- 
ing Allied  intervention,  for  a  month  thereafter.  I  con- 
cluded to  go  to  Petrograd.  I  wished  to  demonstrate  to 
the  Germans  and  Austrians  that  the  American  Govern- 
ment still  had  a  representative  in  Russia  who  was  not 
afraid;  and  besides  I  wished  to  see  what  progress  was 
being  made  in  removing  munitions  and  supplies  out  of 
the  possible  reach  of  the  Germans.  These  were  the 
ostensible  objects  of  my  journeying  to  Petrograd.  The 
real  object  was  to  see  what  organized  opposition,  if  any, 
existed  to  the  Bolshevik  Government.  I  found  Petrograd 
a  very  different  city  from  the  Petrograd  I  had  left  a 
little  over  three  months  previous.  The  streets  presented 
a  deserted  appearance,  a  great  many  of  the  shops  were 
closed.  The  Central  Soviet  Government  had  removed 
from  Petrograd  to  Moscow,  and  the  office  buildings  were 
deserted  or  only  partially  occupied.  After  remaining 
four  days  in  Petrograd,  I  returned  to  Vologda.  The 
two  women  and  the  dvornick  that  I  left  in  charge  of  the 
American  Embassy  in  Petrograd  were  very  much  pleased 


ALLIED  POLICIES  IN  RUSSIA  303 

at  my  return  there.  My  first  act  was  to  have  the  Stars 
and  Stripes  raised  over  the  Embassy  and  the  Norwegian 
flag  taken  down.  This  was  my  last  visit  to  Petrograd. 
I  understand  that  at  this  writing,  April,  1921,  it  is  a 
deplorable  sight,  and  a  travesty  upon  its  former  great- 
ness as  the  capital  of  all  the  Eussias  and  the  gayest  city 
in  Europe. 

To  my  son,  Tom,  I  wrote  from  Vologda,  June  4th,  1918 : 
1  'I  am  now  planning  to  prevent  if  possible  the  dis- 
arming of  40,000  or  more  Czecho-Slovak  soldiers,  whom 
the  Soviet  Government  has  ordered  to  give  up  their  arms 
under  penalty  of  death,  and  has  prohibited  their  trans- 
portation by  every  railroad  line  and  threatened  to  pena- 
lize every  railroad  official  who  violates  such  instructions. 
The  Czecho-Slovaks  were  Austrian  prisoners  of  war, 
confined  in  Russian  military  prison  camps;  they  were 
conscripted  men,  and  have  long  felt  themselves  to  be 
oppressed  by  Austria, — consequently  were  serving 
against  their  wishes  in  the  Austrian  Army.  They  will 
be  treated  as  deserters  now  if  they  return  to  Austria. 
They  are  well  disciplined  soldiers,  good  fighters,  and  hate 
bitterly  the  Austrian  rule  and  more  bitterly,  if  possible, 
Prussian  militarism.  I  have  no  instructions  or  authority 
from  Washington  to  encourage  these  men  to  disobey  the 
orders  of  the  Soviet  Government,  except  an  expression 
of  sympathy  with  the  Czecho-Slovaks  sent  out  by  the 
Department  of  State.  I  have  taken  chances  before, 
however. 

"I  was  visited  last  week  by  Vosnesinski,  an  attache  of 
the  Soviet  Foreign  Office,  who  has  charge  of  the  Division 
of  the  Far  East.  He  is  a  shrewd,  talkative  little  Rus- 
sian. He  came  to  me  on  a  'fishing  expedition,'  to  ascer- 
tain whether  Allied  intervention  is  likely  to  occur  soon  if 
at  all,  and  whether  if  it  should  occur  it  would  interfere 
'  with  the  present  Soviet  Government.  I  told  him  as  you 


304    RUSSIA  FROM  THE  AMERICAN  EMBASSY 

will  see  from  the  enclosed  cable  that  I  did  not  know,  but 
when  he  told  me  that  he  would  return  this  week  I  in- 
formed him  that  I  would  not  be  as  candid  with  him  again 
and  on  his  return  would  not  tell  him  whether  I  knew  or 
not.  When  he  asked  my  individual  opinion,  I  told  him 
that  sometimes  I  thought  Allied  intervention  would  take 
place,  and  other  times  thought  otherwise,  sometimes 
changing  opinion  several  times  a  day  during  these  long 
Russian  days." 

From  Vologda  under  date  of  June  20th,  1918,  I  wrote 
to  my  son  Talton : 

"  Affairs  are  approaching  a  crisis  here.  The  last  re- 
port is  that  the  Bolsheviks  have  made  an  agreement  with 
the  Germans  which  contemplates  the  latter  taking  pos- 
session of  Moscow  with  two  army  corps  immediately  and 
joining  in  an  effort  to  suppress  the  Czecho-Slovaks. 
These  Czechs  are  in  control  of  various  cities  throughout 
Siberia  and  are  encouraging  the  organization  of  a  new 
Siberian  Government.  Tchecherin,  the  Commissar  for 
Foreign  Affairs,  has  addressed  a  note  to  the  American, 
French  and  British  representatives  here  demanding  that 
their  war  vessels  leave  Russian  ports.  I  have  forwarded 
the  American  note  to  the  Department  at  Washington, 
but  have  recommended  that  the  demand  be  not  complied 
with,  and  I  think  it  will  not  be.  It  has  been  a  question  for 
some  weeks  past  whether  the  Bolsheviks  would  come  to 
terms  with  the  German  Government,  or  whether  the  In- 
telligencia,  or  educated  and  thinking  people,  would  form 
a  German  alliance.  I  have  been  in  fear  that  the  latter 
would  be  effected.  Consequently,  am  not  displeased  with 
the  reported  agreement  between  the  Bolsheviks  and  the 
Germans.  I  have  cabled  the  Department  that  the  sen- 
sible, patriotic  Russians  who  are  inclined  to  favor  the 
Allies  are  getting  weary  in  waiting  for  Allied  interven- 
tion and  are  likely  to  make  terms  with  Germany, — in 


ALLIED  POLICIES  IN  RUSSIA  305 

fact,  as  cabled,  they  would  make  terms  with  the  devil  him- 
self in  order  to  get  rid  of  the  Bolsheviks. 

'  *  I  have  recommended  Allied  intervention  and  the  Gov- 
ernment at  Washington  has  it  under  consideration.  We 
have  no  forces,  however,  to  send  to  Russia  as  we  are 
sending  all  of  our  available  men  to  France.  The  only 
country  that  can  send  a  formidable  army  into  Russia  at 
this  time  is  Japan,  against  which  there  is  a  strong  prej- 
udice among  the  Russians,  who  fear  that  Japan  will  have 
a  covetous  eye  toward  Siberia.  If  the  Germans  move 
into  Moscow,  they  will  probably  come  to  Vologda,  which 
is  only  about  300  miles  from  Moscow.  If  the  Germans 
should  approach  Vologda,  of  course  I  shall  have  to  leave. 
It  is  possible  I  may  have  to  go  to  Archangel,  but  I  prefer 
to  go  East,  or  to  Siberia,  as  I  am  determined  not  to  leave 
Russia  until  compelled  to  do  so.'* 


CHAPTER  XX 

BOLSHEVISM  AND  THE  PEACE  CONFERENCE 

I  SENT  a  dispatch  to  the  Department  of  State  after  the 
Armistice,  in  which  I  recommended  that  I  be  sent  back 
to  Petrograd  as  soon  as  my  operation  was  performed 
and  I  was  strong  enough.  My  plan,  as  I  recommended, 
was  to  occupy  the  Embassy  at  Petrograd.  I  said  I  would 
require  not  more  than  50,000  American  soldiers.  I  was 
satisfied  that  as  soon  as  the  English,  the  French  and 
the  Italians  learned  I  was  returning  to  Petrograd  they 
would  send  their  Ambassadors  to  join  me.  Our  soldiers 
would  be  strengthened  by  a  detail  of  at  least  50,000 
French,  50,000  English,  and  20,000  Italian  soldiers. 

The  plan  as  I  outlined  it  was  that  I,  as  Dean  of  the 
Diplomatic  Corps,  would  announce  in  Petrograd  to  the 
Russian  people  that  we  had  not  come  for  the  purpose 
of  interfering  in  their  domestic  affairs,  but  for  the  pro- 
tection of  our  Embassies  and  to  enable  the  Russian  peo- 
ple to  hold  a  free  election  with  a  fair  count  for  members 
of  a  constituent  assembly,  that  assembly  to  choose  a 
form  of  government  preferred  by  the  majority  of  the 
Russian  people. 

During  the  visit  of  President  Wilson  to  London  I  en- 
deavored to  secure  an  audience  with  him,  and  to  take 
up  this  recommendation,  but  was  unable  to  do  so.  I  sent 
a  note  to  the  President  by  my  private  secretary,  Earl 
M.  Johnston,  and  had  it  delivered  at  Buckingham  Pal- 
ace. The  President's  reply  to  this  note  was  that  his  mind 
had  been  running  in  the  same  lines  as  mine,  and  while 
he  could  not  fix  any  date  or  time  to  give  me  an  audience, 

306 


BOLSHEVISM  AND  PEACE  CONFERENCE    307 

he  would  undoubtedly  see  me  before  his  return.  I  sup- 
posed that  meant  before  his  return  to  Paris  from 
England. 

I  attended  a  dinner  that  King  George  V.  gave  to  the 
President  at  Buckingham  Palace,  one  or  two  days  after 
Christmas,  1918.  At  the  dinner  the  President  remarked 
to  me  that  he  had  hoped  to  have  some  opportunity  there 
to  talk  with  me  about  Russia.  But  we  were  not  thrown 
together.  While  he  was  talking  to  the  King  and  the 
Premier,  Lloyd  George,  and  the  former  Premier, 
Asquith,  I  was  talking  to  the  ladies.  As  the  President 
took  his  departure  from  the  dinner,  he  offered  his  arm 
to  the  Queen.  King  George,  who  was  escorting  Mrs. 
Wilson  out  of  the  reception  room,  when  he  met  me,  said : 

''Mr.  Ambassador,  what  do  you  think  we  ought  to  do 
about  Russia  t" 

I  replied  I  thought  the  Allies  should  overturn  the  Bol- 
shevik Government. 

The  King  rejoined  by  telling  me  he  thought  so,  too, 
but  President  Wilson  differed  from  us. 

The  next  day  being  Saturday  a  luncheon  was  given  at 
the  Mansion  House,  which  is  the  residence  of  the  Lord 
Mayor.  President  Wilson  spoke.  I  attended  the  luncheon 
and  heard  the  President  speak.  That  afternoon,  follow- 
ing the  luncheon,  Mr.  Wilson  went  to  Carlisle,  England, 
where  his  grandfather,  Rev.  Woodrow,  had  a  Presby- 
terian congregation.  The  next  day,  Monday,  he  visited 
Manchester,  returning  to  London  late  that  evening.  As 
he  had  not  fixed  a  time  for  giving  me  an  audience,  I  in- 
structed my  private  secretary  to  get  Admiral  Grayson 
on  the  phone  at  Buckingham  Palace  and  to  say  to  him 
that  although  I  had  been  confined  to  my  bed,  I  would 
journey  to  Dover  with  the  President,  if  agreeable,  as  the 
itinerary  provided  for  a  special  train  to  convey  him 
there.  As  Dover  was  about  two  hours'  ride  from  Lon- 


308    RUSSIA  FROM  THE  AMERICAN  EMBASSY 

don,  I  thought  I  could  in  one  hour  discuss  with  him  my 
recommendations  concerning  Russia, — my  plan  to  return 
to  Petrograd  with  a  military  support  as  outlined  in  the 
recommendation  made  to  the  Department  of  State. 

Admiral  Grayson  replied  over  the  phone  to  my  private 
secretary  that  he  would  confer  with  the  President  and 
call  me  later,  asking  where  I  could  be  found.  Admiral 
Grayson  did  call  up  about  half  an  hour  thereafter,  and 
said  that  as  the  Hyde  Park  Hotel  was  not  far  from  Buck- 
ingham Palace,  he  would  come  over  to  see  me  if  I  would 
receive  him.  He  came  about  half  past  eleven  o'clock 
that  night,  bringing  with  him  Captain  Jones,  of  Hous- 
ton, Texas.  Admiral  Grayson  told  me  that  the  President 
had  made  other  arrangements  about  his  trip  to  Dover, 
and  asked  what  my  plans  were.  I  told  him  they  would 
depend  on  whether  Dr.  Hugh  H.  Young  would  consent 
to  perform  the  operation  for  me  that  my  ailment  re- 
quired. I  explained  that  a  celebrated  British  surgeon 
had  refused  to  perform  it;  that  Dr.  Young  had  been  in 
London  since  the  22nd  of  December,  having  been  ordered 
to  report  to  me  as  soon  as  possible  by  Secretary  Lansing. 

The  operation  was  performed  in  a  London  hospital 
by  Dr.  Young  on  the  4th  day  of  January,  1919.  I  left 
the  hospital  four  weeks  to  a  day  after  the  operation,  and 
arrived  in  Paris  at  11  p.  m.,  February  first.  On  arriv- 
ing there  I  got  in  touch  with  Admiral  Grayson  and 
told  him  that  I  desired  an  audience  with  the  President. 
The  Admiral  promised  me  to  secure  an  audience  with 
the  President  if  possible.  In  the  meantime  I  stated  my 
recommendation  and  plan  to  return  to  Petrograd  in  con- 
versations with  Secretary  Lansing,  General  Bliss, 
Colonel  House,  General  Pershing,  and  Henry  White. 
With  each  of  them  separately  I  went  over  the  recom- 
mendation, and  each  one  of  those  men  said  to  me,  "You 
tell  that  to  the  President."  Not  one  of  them,  however, 


BOLSHEVISM  AND  PEACE  CONFERENCE    309 

told  me,  if  he  knew  it,  about  the  President's  contem- 
plated return  to  America.  I  asked  my  chief,  Secretary 
Lansing,  if  he  had  any  orders  for  me.  He  requested  me 
r  to  remain  in  Paris,  because,  he  said,  the  Peace  Con- 
ference would  probably  wish  me  to  come  before  it. 

Not  hearing  from  Grayson  during  the  next  week  and 
seeing  him  at  a  dinner  at  the  Eitz,  I  accosted  him  and 
remarked  to  him  that  I  was  only  awaiting  the  President's 
pleasure  in  Paris,  but  if  I  did  not  hear  from  the  Presi- 
dent during  the  following  week,  I  would  proceed  to 
America.  Thereupon  the  Admiral  said:  "We  are  going 
to  America,  leaving  Paris  on  the  14th,  and  clearing  from 
Brest  on  the  15th  of  February.  Come  and  go  on  the 
steamer  George  Washington  with  us." 

I  replied  to  the  invitation  that  I  had  orders  from  the 
Secretary  to  remain  in  Paris  until  further  instructed, 
but  that  I  would  call  on  the  Secretary  and  tell  him  that 
I  had  been  unable  to  secure  an  audience  with  the  Presi- 
dent, and  inform  him  of  the  invitation  that  the  Admiral 
had  extended  to  me  to  go  to  America  on  the  steamer. 
I  saw  Secretary  Lansing  the  next  day,  and  he  advised 
me  by  all  means  to  accept  the  invitation  to  accompany 
the  President  to  America,  because  he  thought  that  was 
the  only  way  I  could  secure  an  audience,  as  the  President 
had  engagements  that  would  consume  his  entire  time 
up  to  his  departure.  Admiral  Grayson  had  asked  how 
many  there  were  in  my  party,  and  I  had  told  him  my  son 
Perry  and  his  wife,  my  private  secretary,  and  a  colored 
valet. 

I  left  Paris  on  the  special  train  with  the  President  the 
evening  of  February  14th.  We  went  on  the  steamer 
the  next  day  and  cleared  immediately.  In  a  note  to  the 
President,  I  said  to  him  I  awaited  his  pleasure  for  an 
audience.  The  President  did  not  reply  in  writing,  but 
two  or  three  days  later  came  to  the  cabin  I  was  occupy- 


310    RUSSIA  FROM  THE  AMERICAN  EMBASSY 

ing.  I  outlined  my  recommendation  about  Russia  to 
him.  He  replied  that  sending  American  soldiers  to  Rus- 
sia after  the  armistice  had  been  signed  would  be  very 
unpopular  in  America.  I  ventured  to  differ  with  him; 
I  expressed  the  opinion  that  many  of  the  2,000,000  sol- 
diers he  had  in  Europe  were  disappointed  that  the  armi- 
stice was  signed  before  they  could  engage  in  a  battle. 
I  said:  "You  could  get  50,000  volunteers  out  of  the  2,- 
000,000  of  American  soldiers  who  would  be  glad  to  go 
to  Russia  to  protect  a  representative  of  their  govern- 
ment in  that  country."  The  President  replied  that  he 
had  mentioned  my  recommendation  to  Lloyd  George  and 
that  Lloyd  George's  expression  was,  if  he  should  order 
any  British  soldiers  to  go  to  Russia  they  not  only  would 
object  but  refuse  to  go.  The  President  furthermore 
stated  that  he  had  mentioned  the  same  subject  to  Clem- 
enceau,  and  he  had  met  with  the  reply  that  if  Clemenceau 
should  order  French  troops  to  go  to  Russia  they  would 
mutiny,  but  the  President  said  he  would  give  further 
consideration  to  my  recommendation.  I  never  broached 
the  subject  again  to  the  President,  and  did  not  see  him 
after  landing  in  Boston  until  his  term  expired,  except 
for  a  moment  when  he  arrived  in  New  York  from  Paris 
July  8,  1919. 

I  think  that  if  the  recommendation  had  been  carried 
out  it  would  have  saved  Europe  from  Bolshevism,  which 
came  near  overturning  the  German  Government,  and  did 
succeed  in  deposing  the  Austrian  and  Hungarian  Gov- 
ernments, and  menaced  France,  and  threatened  England 
and  was  the  cause  of  unrest  in  America  and  throughout 
the  world. 

From  the  George  Washington  I  sent  by  radio  to  Secre- 
tary Lansing,  General  Bliss,  Colonel  House  and  Henry 
White  this  report  of  my  conversation  with  the  President : 


"I  had  a  thorough  talk  with  the  President  concerning 
Russia.  I  presented  the  plan  that  the  Allied  Missions 
return  to  Petrograd  to  occupy  their  domiciles  accom- 
panied by  100,000  Allied  troops  and  abundant  food  sup- 
plies. I  also  suggested  that  the  proposed  Prinkipo  in- 
vestigation be  transferred  to  Petrograd  and  that  all  pro- 
fessed Russian  governments  be  summoned  there  and 
their  statements  be  confined  to  replying  to  questions 
asked.  I  further  proposed  that  the  Allied  Missions  issue 
an  address  to  the  Russian  people  disclaiming  any  inten- 
tion of  interfering  in  the  internal  affairs  of  Russia  and 
stating  that  the  Russians  were  still  considered  Allies  and 
that  the  object  in  reoccupying  domiciles  was  to  assist 
Russia  in  her  misfortunes  and  difficulties  and  to  afford 
them  unawed  the  opportunity  for  a  free  election  and 
a  fair  count  for  the  election  of  a  constitutional  assembly 
to  select  a  form  of  government  by  the  majority.  In 
order  to  accomplish  this,  order  would  necessarily  be  re- 
stored. The  President  said  he  would  give  the  plan  con- 
sideration; he  admitted  that  the  withdrawing  of  Allied 
forces  from  Russia  would  mean  the  deplorable  slaughter 
of  the  Russian  friends  of  the  Allies,  but  repeated  the 
statements  of  Lloyd  George  and  Clemenceau  concerning 
the  difficulty  of  ordering  British  and  French  troops  to 
Russia. 

' '  I  expressed  the  opinion  that  an  army  of  200,000  com- 
posed of  American,  British,  French  and  probably  Italian 
soldiers  would  volunteer  when  the  appeal  was  made  to 
them  to  go  to  Russia  to  protect  the  representatives  of 
their  governments,  but  stated  that  I  thought  100,000 
would  be  ample. 

"  Radios  indicate  that  Secretary  of  War  Baker  has 
said  the  Allied  troops  will  be  withdrawn  from  Northern 
Russia  early  in  the  spring;  my  judgment  is  that  such  a 
policy  would  be  a  mistake  and  would  delay  peace  nego- 
tiations because  no  peace  treaty  would  be  effective  with 
Russia  left  out.  If  treaty  is  signed  with  Bolsheviks 
dominating  Russia  or  disorder  prevailing  there,  Ger- 
many will  so  utilize  Russia's  immeasurable  resources 
and  so  organize  Russian  manpower  as  to  convert  defeat 
into  victory  in  ten  years  or  shorter  time.  Furthermore, 


312    RUSSIA  FROM  THE  AMERICAN  EMBASSY 

Bolshevism  prevailing  in  Russia  would  extend  its  bane- 
ful influence  to  other  countries  and  become  a  more  po- 
tential menace  than  it  is  now  not  only  to  organized  gov- 
ernments but  to  society  itself.  Bolshevik  doctrines  de- 
stroy family  relations  and  if  they  predominate  they  will 
mean  return  to  barbarism. 

"I  shall  not  return  with  the  President  but  shall  keep 
in  touch  with  the  State  Department  and  can  be  in  Paris 
on  two  weeks'  notice." 


. . 


'While  I  was  in  the  hospital  at  London,  I  received 
through  the  American  Embassy  this  cable  addressed  to 
me  and  signed  "Polk,  Acting": 

"Kindly  telegraph  the  American  Ministry  which  has 
already  received  the  text  of  the  following  telegram  full 
comments  on  the  points  which  are  raised  therein.  Em- 
bassy and  Consulate  cables  relating  to  these  questions 
have  been  received  by  the  Department  but  it  now  wishes 
to  have  such  a  collective  statement  as  you  could  furnish. 
It  is  urgent  to  have  an  answer  as  soon  as  possible." 

The  telegram  he  enclosed  was  from  Tchecherin,  Peo- 
ple's Commissar  of  Foreign  Affairs  at  Moscow.  The 
comments  on  the  points  in  the  telegram  were  desired 
for  the  use  of  the  American  Peace  Commission  then  in 
session  in  Paris.  Tchecherin  began  by  referring  to  the 
reasons  for  sending  American  troops  to  Russia  as  they 
had  been  presented  in  the  United  States  Senate  by  Sen- 
ator Hitchcock,  Chairman  of  the  Foreign  Relations  Com- 
mittee. Tchecherin  took  up  these  reasons,  giving  the 
Bolshevik  answer  to  them,  and  then  made  his  argument 
for  the  recognition  of  the  Soviet  Government  by  the 
United  States.  This  long  dispatch  by  Tchecherin  was 
manifestly  intended  for  effect  in  connection  with  the 
peace  negotiations  going  on  at  Paris. 

Tchecherin 's  cable  stated: 


BOLSHEVISM  AND  PEACE  CONFERENCE    313 

"First  reason  given  is  desire  prevent  establishment 
of  German  submarine  base  Archangel.  Whether  pre- 
viously justified  or  not,  at  any  rate  this  reason  exists 
no  longer. 

"As  to  second  reason,  namely,  safeguarding  Allied 
stores,  I  beg  to  remind  that  already  in  Spring  of  last 
year  we  entered  into  negotiations  with  view  guarantee- 
ing interests  of  Entente  in  this  respect,  and  we  are  ready 
now  to  give  every  reasonable  satisfaction  on  this  ques- 
tion. As  to  danger  of  the  stores  falling  into  hands  of 
Germans,  whether  previously  justified  or  not,  danger 
exists  no  longer. 

"Third  reason  given  is  maintaining  gateway  for  ar- 
rival and  departure  of  diplomats  and  others.  I  beg  sub- 
mit that  best  way  attain  that  end  is  to  enter  into  an 
agreement  with  my  Government.  Mr.  Francis,  Ameri- 
can Ambassador,  at  time  of  leaving  our  country  was 
able  to  depart  and  arrive  unhindered,  our  sole  reason 
for  asking  him  not  remain  Vologda  was  the  great  danger 
which  threatened  his  personal  safety,  and  we  offered 
him  most  appropriate  residence  in  or  near  Moscow. 

"Fourth  reason  given  is  guaranteeing  safety  of 
Czecho-Slovaks,  but  there  is  nothing  to  prevent  this  be- 
ing attained  by  agreement  with  my  Government.  We 
have  officially  proposed  Czecho-Slovaks  free  passage 
home  through  Russia  on  conditions  guaranteeing  their 
safety  and  we  have  come  to  complete  understanding  with 
Professor  Maxa,  President  Czecho-Slovak  National 
Council  in  Russia,  who  has  now  gone  to  Bohemia  to  com- 
municate our  proposal  to  Czecho-Slovak  Government. 

"Last  reason  given  by  Senator  Hitchcock  is  preven- 
tion of  formation  of  army  composed  of  German- Austrian 
prisoners.  At  present  only  obstacle  barring  way  home 
to  all  prisoners  of  war  is  presence  of  Entente  troops  or 
White  Guard  under  their  protection.  We  are  therefore 
at  loss  to  understand  what  justification  there  can  be  for 
t  further  maintenance  of  American  troops  in  Russia,  As 
can  be  seen  from  above-mentioned  radiogram,  some  prom- 
inent leaders  of  principal  political  parties  of  America 
equally  fail  understand  the  reason.  They  expressed  de- 
sire that  American  troops  be  withdrawn  from  Russia 


314    RUSSIA  FROM  THE  AMERICAN  EMBASSY 

as  soon  as  possible.  We  share  their  desire  for  resuming 
normal  relations  between  two  countries  and  are  ready  to 
remove  everything  that  can  be  hindrance  to  such  rela- 
tions. It  is  not  first  time  we  make  such  offer.  In  Octo- 
ber we  sent  communication  to  that  effect  through  Nor- 
wegian Minister  in  Russia.  A  week  later  we  made  sim- 
ilar verbal  offer  through  Mr.  Christensen,  Attache  Nor- 
wegian Legation,  when  he  was  leaving  Moscow.  On 
November  3rd  we  invited  all  neutral  representatives  in 
Moscow  requesting  them  transmit  written  proposal  to 
Entente  Powers  to  enter  negotiations  for  putting  end  to 
fighting  Russia.  On  November  26th  all-Russian  Con- 
gress of  Soviets  declared  to  the  whole  world  and  to  En- 
tente Powers  that  Russia  wished  to  open  peace  negotia- 
tions. On  December  23rd,  our  representative,  Mr.  Lit- 
vinoff,  informed  Entente  Ministers  in  Stockholm  once 
more  of  desire  of  Russian  Government  of  peaceful  set- 
tlement all  outstanding  questions.  He  also  appealed  to 
President  Wilson  in  London.  Responsibility,  therefore, 
lies  not  with  us  if  settlement  not  yet  been  reached.  We 
had  opportunity  of  hearing  some  American  officers  and 
soldiers  expressing  perplexity  at  their  presence  in  Rus- 
sia, especially  when  we  pointed  out  to  them  this  to  be 
attempt  to  put  upon  Russian  people  yoke  of  oppression, 
which  it  cast  away.  Result  of  this  explanation  was  not 
unfavorable  to  our  personal  relations  with  these  Ameri- 
can citizens.  We  hope  that  peaceful  aspirations  of  above- 
mentioned  Senators  shared  by  whole  American  people 
and  we  request  American  Government  kindly  make 
known  place  and  date  for  opening  peace  negotiations 
with  our  representatives." 

I  made  my  comments  on  the  above  dispatch  from  Tche- 
cherin,  dictating  what  I  had  to  say  from  my  bed  in  the 
hospital.  In  accordance  with  Acting  Secretary  Polk's 
request,  on  January  22nd,  I  sent  to  the  American  Peace 
Commission  at  Paris  this  statement: 

"Neither  we  nor  any  of  the  Allied  governments  nor 
any  Neutral  have  recognized  (with  possible  exception  of 
Persia)  the  Tchecherin  message  from  Soviet  Govern- 


BOLSHEVISM  AND  PEACE  CONFERENCE    315 

merit,  which  message  is  absolutely  false  in  its  claim  that 
it  represented  Russian  people.  In  spite  of  the  importu- 
nities of  Robins  and  some  other  Americans  I  refused 
to  recommend  recognition.  I  always  maintained,  as 
shown  by  the  records,  that  world-wide  social  revolution 
was  the  object  of  the  Soviet  Government  and  also  as 
subsequent  developments  proved,  their  efforts  were  en- 
tirely directed  to  that  end.  It  was  clearly  established 
that  Lenin  accepted  German  money  and  used  it  to  cor- 
rupt Russia,  but  to  gain  the  same  end  he  would  have 
accepted  American,  British  or  French  money.  Lenin 
is  a  fanatic.  He  openly  stated  that  he  was  trying  an 
experiment  on  Russia  in  government.  Trotzky  is  an  ad- 
venturer, absolutely  without  conviction  and  saturated 
with  personal  ambition.  Until  the  Brest-Litovsk  Peace 
I  encouraged  Soviet  opposition  to  Central  Empires,  after 
which  peace  I  made  an  address  trying  to  arouse  Russian 
spirit  and  saying  that  the.  United  States  still  considered 
herself  the  ally  of  the  Russian  people  and  would  not 
recognize  such  a  peace.  The  German  Government  de- 
manded that  I  be  sent  out  of  Russia.  This  they  de- 
manded of  the  Central  Soviet  Government  because  of 
the  above  address  referred  to  and  the  one  to  the  Rus- 
sians of  July  4th.  In  the  meantime  I  had  left  Petrograd 
on  February  27th  on  account  of  threatened  German  ap- 
proach and  stopped  at  Vologda,  in  which  place  I  re- 
mained five  months,  being  joined  there  subsequently  by 
Belgian,  French,  Serbian  and  Italian  missions.  As 
shown  by  the  records  my  requests  that  railroad  engi- 
neers be  sent  from  Vladivostok  to  me  at  Vologda  and 
that  American  officers  be  sent  to  aid  Trotzky  in  organiz- 
ing army  had  ulterior  objects. 

"  Answering  Tchecherin  message,  while  first  reason  is 
dissipated  it  unquestionably  existed  when  Allied  troops 
were  sent  into  North  Russia. 

* l  Second  reason :  While  Soviet  Government  was  nego- 
tiating for  retention  of  supplies  at  Archangel  it  was  re- 
moving such  supplies  at  the  rate  of  a  hundred  cars  daily 
and  the  British  and  French  assured  me  was  breaking 
faith  by  doing  so  in  addition  to  having  repudiated  obli- 
gations given  for  purchase  of  such  supplies.  I  refrained 


316    RUSSIA  FROM  THE  AMERICAN  EMBASSY 

from  participation  in  such  negotiations  as  America  had 
little  if  any  supplies  there.  Undoubtedly  the  Soviet  Gov- 
ernment would  now  negotiate  for  retention  of  such  sup- 
plies at  Archangel  or  make  other  promises  for  recog- 
nition. 

" Third  reason:  A  few  days  after  Mirbach's  assassina- 
tion the  Soviet  Government  wired  Allied  Diplomats  at 
Vologda,  inviting  or  ordering  them  to  Moscow  and  say- 
ing Radek  was  sent  to  Vologda  to  'execute'  removal. 
The  Allied  chiefs  unanimously  declined  the  invitation  or 
order,  saying  if  order  was  meant  they  considered  it  of- 
fensive. Furthermore,  German  press  was  charging  Mir- 
bach's death  to  Allied  instigation  and  demanding  of 
Soviet  Government  that  German  and  Austrian  troops 
be  permitted  to  come  to  Moscow  for  protection  of  their 
Embassies  and  Consulates.  Ten  days  later,  after  mid- 
night July  23rd,  I  received  as  Dean  of  the  Diplomatic 
Corps  telegram  from  Tchecherin  urging  that  Allied  Dip- 
lomats quit  Vologda  and  saying  another  day  might  be 
too  late.  To  this  we  replied  we  had  concluded  to  accept 
the  advice  and  would  leave  Vologda,  requesting  a  loco- 
motive to  convey  the  special  train  on  track  at  Vologda 
to  Archangel.  When  Tchecherin  heard  we  contemplated 
going  to  Archangel  he  wired  going  there  meant  leaving 
Russia.  I  replied,  repeating  the  request,  stating  we 
would  not  leave  Russia  unless  compelled  by  force  and 
then  absence  would  be  temporary.  A  locomotive  was 
furnished  after  twenty-four  hours'  delay  and  the  Diplo- 
matic Corps  arrived  in  Archangel  July  26th.  "When 
told  by  the  Local  Soviet  and  the  representative  of  the 
Central  Soviet  that  a  boat  was  waiting  to  convey  us 
where  we  elected  we  replied  refusing  to  embark  before 
communicating  with  our  governments,  with  which  com- 
munication had  been  severed  for  three  weeks  or  more. 
After  some  colloquy  our  decision  was  wired  the  Soviet 
Government  at  Moscow,  who  replied  that  communication 
was  impossible.  We  decided  to  go  Kandalaksha  which 
was  occupied  by  Allied  troops  if  furnished  an  additional 
steamer  because  one  was  inadequate.  The  additional 
steamer  was  provided  July  28th,  but  many  useless 
obstacles  prevented  clearing  until  four  a.m.  July  29th. 


BOLSHEVISM  AND  PEACE  CONFERENCE    317 

Meanwhile  we  heard  from  credible  sources  that  while 
the  Central  and  Local  Soviet  professed  willingness  for 
our  departure  the  Central  Soviet  was  secretly  urging 
Local  Soviet  to  detain  us  as  possible  hostages  to  prevent 
landing  of  Allied  troops,  which  I  have  heard  since  was 
their  object  in  insisting  on  our  removing  to  Moscow 
rather  than  regard  for  our  safety.  The  Local  Soviet, 
however,  was  afraid  to  detain  us  as  a  local  Anti-Bolshe- 
vik revolution  was  impending.  This  was  not  the  first 
evidence  we  had  of  Tchecherin's  hypocrisy.  The  Anti- 
Bolshevik  revolution  occurred  August  2nd,  Allied  troops 
landed  four  hours  later  and  the  Allied  Missions  returned 
to  Archangel  August  9th. 

" Fourth  reason:  Czecho-Slovak  detention  no  longer 
obtains.  It  was  a  burning  issue  when  Allied  troops  landed 
at  Archangel.  Permitting  Czecho-Slovaks  to  depart  now 
is  no  reason  why  Soviet  Government  should  be  recog- 
nized, and  it  should  be  remembered  that  when  the 
Czecho-Slovaks  started  leaving  Russia  they  were  prom- 
ised safe  conduct  with  their  arms  and  all  Czecho  trouble 
was  caused  by  the  treachery  of  Trotzky,  who  issued  a 
secret  order  that  they  should  not  be  permitted  to  leave 
without  giving  up  their  arms  and,  when  given  up,  they 
should  be  detained  notwithstanding. 

" Answering  the  last  reason:  Allied  missions  had  posi- 
tive evidence  that  German-Austrian  war  prisoners  were 
being  armed  and  German  officers  were  instructing  Bol- 
shevik forces.  While  German-Austrian  prisoners  may 
now  be  free  to  return  home,  the  fact  remains  that  Bol- 
sheviks are  propagandizing  among  prisoners  and  offer- 
ing every  inducement  to  join  the  Red  Army.  Probably 
the  Soviet  Government  did  send  communications,  written 
and  verbal,  to  us  through  Norwegian  representatives 
that  if  American  troops  were  withdrawn  they  would 
establish  diplomatic  relations,  but  that  involved  recog- 
nition of  Bolshevik  Government,  which  neither  we  nor 
any  other  well  ordered  government  could  afford  as  Bol- 
shevik orators  not  only  charged  our  Government  with 
being  capitalistic  but  openly  advocated  opposition  to  all 
organized  government  everywhere.  I  was  compelled  to 
leave  Archangel  for  a  surgical  operation  November 


6th,  but  the  Soviet  Government  had  already  instituted 
a  reign  of  terror  to  maintain  themselves  in  power;  they 
were  pillaging  and  murdering  inoffensive  citizens  with- 
out trial  and  when  they  could  not  find  men  they  were 
arresting  wives,  mothers  and  sisters  as  hostages  for  the 
appearance  of  the  men  to  serve  in  Bed  Army.  I  recom- 
mended weeks  before  leaving  Archangel  armed  interven- 
tion for  restoration  of  order  knowing  that  the  same 
would  involve  extinction  of  Bolshevism,  which  I  consid- 
ered not  only  irreparably  injurious  to  Russia  but  a  dis- 
grace to  civilization  and  a  reflecting  on  Allies.  I  con- 
sider Bolshevism  as  practised  in  Russia  means  a  return 
of  the  race  to  barbarism  if  it  should  prevail  throughout 
society.  That  is  why  I  studiously  avoided  encouraging 
the  Soviet  Government,  refused  going  to  Moscow  and 
failed  to  establish  even  a  modus  vivendi  with  it.  I  have 
never  doubted  its  willingness  to  make  any  arrangement 
that  would  secure  our  recognition  as  Tchecherin's  mes- 
sage demonstrates.  I  heard  through  Radek  after  Robins' 
departure  that  the  latter  was  the  messenger  from  the 
Soviet  Government  to  extend  to  our  Government  all  of 
the  privileges  and  concessions  granted  Germany  in  the 
Brest-Litovsk  treaty,  but  Radek  said  that  the  offer  did 
not  include  England  and  France.  I  never  heard  that 
Robins  was  permitted  to  present  this  proposition  to  our 
Government. 

"I  think  furthermore  that  if  peace  is  consummated 
with  the  disorder  prevailing  in  Russia  or  if  the  Bolshe- 
viks are  permitted  to  dominate  there,  that  Russia  will 
be  exploited  by  Germany  so  completely  as  to  effectually 
recoup  her  losses  by  war  and  become  again  a  menace  to 
civilization. ' ' 

Three  days  after  my  statement  had  been  sent  to  the 
American  Peace  Commission,  Mr.  Poole,  whom  I  had 
left  in  charge  of  the  Embassy  at  Archangel,  forwarded 
his  comments  upon  the  Tchecherin  communication.  He 
wrote : 

"The  entire  absence  of  good  faith  on  the  part  of  the 


BOLSHEVISM  AND  PEACE  CONFERENCE    319 

Bolsheviks  would  render  futile  Tchecherin 's  proposal  of 
an  agreement  for  the  establishment  of  diplomatic  rela- 
tions even  if  it  were  not  acceptable  for  other  reasons. 
No  reliance  can  be  placed  on  the  solemn  assurances  of 
the  Bolshevik  party.  For  example,  the  Consulates-Gen- 
eral of  Great  Britain  and  France  were  forcibly  violated, 
as  reported  from  Moscow  on  August  5th  and  6th,  two 
hours  after  Tchecherin  had  most  earnestly  assured  the 
Japanese  and  Swedish  Consuls-General  and  myself  that 
under  all  circumstances  the  immunities  of  foreign  repre- 
sentatives would  be  respected.  You  will  no  doubt  hear 
from  Mr.  Francis  about  his  'unhindered  private  move- 
ments' during  the  latter  part  of  July.  Even  now  Tche- 
cherin is  constantly  lying  about  the  circumstances  relat- 
ing to  the  departure  of  the  Ambassador.  First  proof  of 
this  is  an  intercepted  wire  communication  between  him 
and  Radek  while  the  latter  was  working  on  this  matter 
at  Vologda,  a  copy  of  which  has  been  given  the  Depart- 
ment ;  second  proof  lies  in  a  subsequent  admission  made 
by  Tchecherin  in  his  report  to  the  Ail-Russian  Soviet 
Congress  held  in  September,  translation  of  which  was 
sent  me  from  Moscow,  to  the  effect  that  400  German 
soldiers  were  admitted  during  July  to  Moscow  as  a  Ger- 
man Embassy  guard.  On  at  least  two  occasions  Karahan 
and  Tchecherin  solemnly  assured  me,  in  reply  to  a  cate- 
gorical inquiry  on  my  part,  that  there  were  no  German 
soldiers  in  Moscow  and  none  would  be  admitted.  When 
these  men  spoke  the  soldiers  were  in  Moscow.  The  third 
proof  is  contained  in  a  letter  addressed  to  Karahan  by 
Larin,  the  Bolshevik  negotiator  in  Berlin,  translation  of 
which  was  forwarded  from  Stockholm.  There  is  an  ad- 
mission in  the  next  to  last  paragraph  of  this  letter  that 
one  of  the  true  motives  in  forcing  the  Ambassadors  to 
go  to  Moscow  was  to  play  them  off  against  the  German 
Government  in  connection  with  negotiation  of  the 
treaties  by  which  the  treaty  of  Brest-Litovsk  was  sup- 
plemented. 

'  *  The  problem  is  gravely  complicated  by  the  utter  bad 
faith  of  the  Bolsheviks.  Even  were  it  possible  to  disre- 
gard the  virtual  alliance  which  existed  between  the  Im- 
perial German  Government  and  the  Government  at  Mos- 


320    EUSSIA  FROM  THE  AMERICAN  EMBASSY 

cow  after  conclusion  of  the  treaties  supplementary  to 
that  of  Brest-Litovsk  (which  differed  from  the  latter  in 
that  they  were  actively  sought  after  rather  than  accepted 
under  constraint)  or  the  nauseous  and  destructive 
butchery  of  the  terrorism  and  other  evils, — even  if  it 
were  possible  to  overlook  all  these, — it  would  still  be 
impracticable  to  renew  de  facto  relations  with  the  Mos- 
cow Government  because  of  the  impediment  of  complete 
and  proven  bad  faith  on  their  part.  The  President  found 
this  an  insuperable  obstacle  to  peace  negotiations  with 
the  German  Government.  The  futility  of  Bolshevik  en- 
gagements is  due,  not  only  to  the  dishonesty  of  their 
leaders,  but  to  the  natural  disorderliness  of  a  loose  knit 
Government,  many  of  whose  most  active  members  are 
anarchists  by  temperament.  At  the  caprice  of  Trotzky 
and  the  Commissariat  of  War  or  the  Extraordinary 
Commission  against  counter-revolution  or  of  any  other 
strong  personality  of  the  moment,  the  most  democratic 
decision  or  engagement  of  the  Commissariat  of  Foreign 
Affairs  may  be  altered. 

"The  Czecho-Slovak  matter  has  given  Department 
evidence  of  Bolshevik  bad  faith.  Unfortunately  my  files 
on  this  were  burned. 

"It  is  of  interest  to  note  following  representative 
statements  regarding  Tchecherin's  proposal.  These  are 
taken  at  random  from  '  The  Fall  is  Near  of  Lloyd  George 
and  Wilson,'  a  piece  of  Bolshevik  propaganda  prepared 
for  distribution  among  our  troops  here : 

"  'Pitiless  conditions  which  are  more  cruel  than  those 
of  Brest-Litovsk  and  which  are  more  threatening  to  the 
world's  peace  have  been  imposed  by  the  Allies  on  the 
enemy  which  they  have  vanquished.' 

* '  '  The  League  of  Nations  which  Wilson  proposes  is  a 
fake.'" 

DeWitt  C.  Poole,  Jr.,  was  sent  to  Russia  by  the  De- 
partment of  State.  I  recommended  him  for  Acting  Con- 
sul-General after  the  death  of  Madden  Summers  at  Mos- 
cow in  May,  1918.  The  Department  followed  my  recom- 
mendation and  gave  him  that  appointment  He  was  a 


BOLSHEVISM  AND  PEACE  CONFERENCE    321 

fearless,  loyal  and  able  representative  of  his  government. 
I  had  known  his  mother  and  grandfather,  who  formerly 
lived  in  St.  Louis.  I  was  not  acquainted  with  his  father, 
who  was  an  army  officer.  Old  residents  of  St.  Louis 
will  remember  well  the  firm  of  Pettus  &  Leathe.  Poole 
was  a  grandson  of  that  Mr.  Pettus. 

Poole  remained  in  Moscow  until  he  was  forced  to  leave 
by  the  Bolsheviks.  He  succeeded  me  as  Chief  Represen- 
tative of  the  American  Government  at  Archangel,  after 
my  health  necessitated  my  leaving  Russia.  He  was  Chief 
of  the  Russian  Bureau  in  the  Department  of  State  at 
Washington  for  a  number  of  months,  and  was  given  a 
long  leave  of  absence.  He  is  connected  with  the  Depart- 
ment of  State  at  this  writing,  assisting  Mr.  Carr,  the 
head  of  the  Consular  Bureau.  His  special  duty  is  teach- 
ing new  consuls  as  well  as  those  not  new  to  the  service 
their  duties  and  responsibilities. 

On  the  22nd  of  January,  President  Wilson  presented 
to  the  Peace  Conference  what  is  known  as  the  *  *  Prinkipo 
Proposal."  This  was  an  invitation  to  " every  organized 
group  that  is  now  exercising  or  attempting  to  exercise 
political  authority  or  military  control  anywhere  in  Si- 
beria or  within  the  jurisdiction  of  European  Russia"  to 
send  representatives  to  a  conference  on  the  Princes 
Islands.  The  invitation  included  the  Bolshevik  Govern- 
ment. 

The  official  report  of  a  conference  held  by  members 
of  the  Peace  Conference  the  preceding  day,  January  21st, 
1919,  represented  President  Wilson  as  saying:  "That 
if  on  the  other  hand  the  Allies  could  swallow  their  pride 
and  the  natural  repulsion  which  they  felt  for  the  Bol- 
sheviks and  see  the  representatives  of  all  organized 
groups  in  one  place,  he  thought  it  would  bring  about  a 
marked  reaction  against  Bolshevism." 

This  action  of  the  President  drew  from  Acting  Chief 


322    RUSSIA  FROM  THE  AMERICAN  EMBASSY 

Poole  the  following  protest,  which  included  the  offer  of 
his  resignation,  and  which  was  received  by  the  American 
Peace  Conference  at  Paris  on  the  morning  of  February 
5th: 

"It  is  my  duty  to  explain  frankly  to  the  Department 
the  moral  perplexity  into  which  I  have  been  thrown  by 
the  statement  of  Russian  policy  adopted  by  the  Peace 
Conference  January  28th,  on  the  motion  of  the  President. 
The  announcement  very  happily  recognizes  the  revolu- 
tion and  confirms  again  that  entire  absence  of  sympathy 
for  any  form  of  counter-revolution  which  has  always 
been  a  keynote  of  American  policy  in  Russia ;  but  it  con- 
tains not  one  word  of  condemnation  for  the  other  enemy 
of  the  revolution — the  Bolshevik  Government.  However, 
this  Government  is  accepted  apparently  on  the  same  foot- 
ing for  the  purpose  of  the  invitation  to  Princes  Island. 
Those  other  groups  which,  however  weak  they  may  be, 
are  inspired  with  reasonable  decency  and  patriotism  and 
have  been  loyal  in  the  fight  against  growing  Imperial- 
ism. Having  reread  within  the  past  few  days  practically 
every  pronouncement  of  the  President  on  foreign  policy 
and  having  remarked  especially  his  statement  at  Mobile, 
October  27th,  1913,  that  we  dare  not  turn  from  the  prin- 
ciple that  morality  and  not  expediency  is  the  thing  that 
must  guide  us  and  that  we  will  never  condone  iniquity 
because  it  is  most  convenient  to  do  so,  I  feel  that  some 
further  utterance  of  the  Conference  must  follow  which 
will  reveal  the  United  States  and  its  associates  as  the 
outspoken  champions  of  right  aligning  our  Russian  pol- 
icy in  the  future  with  that  of  the  past  as  exemplified  in 
the  note  of  September  20th  to  the  Neutral  Powers.  The 
Department  knows  that  I  am  not  a  stubborn  or  obstinate 
advocate  of  any  specific  course  of  action  against  the 
Bolshevik  Government.  I  had  thought  only  that  unceas- 
ing condemnation  of  its  evil  methods  had  been  accepted 
beyond  all  changing  as  a  part  of  our  policy.  I  have 
given  all  there  is  in  me  to  reveal,  and  possibly  thereby 

slightly  to  counteract,  the  utter  wickedness  of  much  the 

Bolsheviks  have  done  and  are  still  doing.    I  had  thought 


BOLSHEVISM  AND  PEACE  CONFERENCE  3:23 

that  I  might  be  contributing  in  some  slight  way  to  better 
the  world's  affairs.  Knowing  as  I  "do,  possibly  better 
than  any  other  American,  the  complete  immorality  of 
the  Bolshevik  leaders — though  the  aspirations  of  a  few 
be  sincere — and  the  demoralization  which  their  cynicism 
and  cruelties  work  upon  those  whom  they  lead,  I  cannot 
in  honesty  or  self-respect  do  other  than  protest  against 
any  course  of  action  which  does  not  take  unmistakable 
account  of  these  facts.  If  I  have  misconstrued  the  Paris 
announcement,  or  any  subsequent  action  is  to  give  it  a 
different  color,  I  know  that  the  Department  will  set  me 
right  with  the  same  understanding  and  indulgence  which 
it  has  invariably  shown  me.  Affairs  at  Archangel  are 
critical.  I  should  be  loath  to  evade  responsibility  and 
my  departure  would  add  uncertainty  and  conjecture  to 
a  situation  already  overwrought.  In  tendering  my  res- 
ignation, therefore,  I  desire  not  only  to  express  the  sor- 
row which  the  necessity  for  this  action  causes  me  and 
my  deep  appreciation  of  the  kindness  which  I  have  al- 
ways met  at  the  hands  of  my  superiors,  but  also  my 
readiness  to  abide  by  the  Department's  determination 
of  the  moment  when  it  will  be  opportune  to  let  me  go. 
My  only  purpose  is  to  avow  readily  to  the  Department 
my  state  of  mind,  in  order  that  it  may  determine  the 
possible  future  value  of  my  services,  and  secondly  to 
assure  my  early  disassociation  from  any  Russian  policy 
which  does  not  include,  regardless  of  its  other  compo- 
nents, unremitting  public  denunciation  of,  or  in  any  other 
way  seems  to  condone,  the  methods  by  which  the  Bol- 
sheviks have  come  into  power,  which  they  have  continued 
to  employ  and  are  still  to-day  employing  in  order  to 
maintain  themselves." 

I  cabled  to  Poole  on  February  8th,  as  follows : 

"I  am  inclined  to  think  you  misconstrue  therein  the 
President's  policy  as  he  offered  the  resolution  as  a  com- 
promise for  the  proposition  of  Lloyd  George  which  was 
to  invite  representatives  of  all  Russian  Governments  to 
appear  before  the  Peace  Conference  in  Paris.  I  consider 
the  Prinkipo  suggestion  merely  an  investigation  or  in- 


quiry  court  to  enable  the  Conference  to  officially  acquire 
knowledge  of  Russian  conditions  as  the  Commission 
would  have  no  power  to  act  but  would  refer  back  findings 
to  the  Conference  accompanied  or  unaccompanied  by 
recommendations.  The  Commission  can  make  rules  of 
procedure  designating  hours  for  each  delegation  and 
thereby  preventing  delegates  from  even  seeing  each 
other.  I  have  stated  in  interview  here  that  patriotic 
Russians  put  themselves  no  more  on  a  level  with  the  out- 
law Bolsheviks  than  you  would  put  yourself  on  the  level 
with  a  burglar  when  subpoanaed  as  witness  to  identify 
stolen  property. 

"Your  cable  is  very  able,  clear  and  creditable,  but  I 
regret  its  presentation  at  this  juncture.  Confidentially 
I  am  reliably  informed  that  the  British,  French,  and 
Italian  members  of  the  Conference  told  the  President 
that  if  their  armies  were  ordered  to  Russia  they  would 
not  obey. 

"I  am  here  under  Department  instructions,  but  no  spe- 
cific duty  has  been  assigned  as  yet.  I  have  recommended 
that  the  Allied  Missions  be  sent  to  Petrograd,  which 
from  their  viewpoint  is  still  the  Russian  capital,  accom- 
panied by  sufficient  troops  to  protect  and  sufficient  food 
to  subsist,  with  the  announcement  that  they  are  sent  to 
reoccupy  domiciles  there,  to  befriend  the  Russian  peo- 
ple, whom  we  still  consider  Allies,  and  to  enable  Russia 
after  order  is  restored  to  make  untrammeled  choice  of 
the  form  of  Government  preferred  by  the  majority.  This 
would  mean  extinction  of  Bolshevism,  would  save  our 
faces  and  would  probably  induce  troops  to  obey  orders. 
What  think  you?  Would  100,000  troops  be  sufficient ?" 

I  think,  and  stated  at  the  time,  that  the  Russian  repre- 
sentatives of  the  anti-Bolshevik  factions  who  were  in 
Paris  and  the  Soviet  Government  itself  made  a  mistake 
in  not  accepting  this  Prinkipo  invitation.  In  the  light 
of  subsequent  events,  I  have  not  changed  my  mind  in 
that  respect  up  to  the  present  time.  As  I  told  the  Rus- 
sians in  Paris  at  a  luncheon  given  to  me  the  Monday 
before  my  departure  for  America,  they  did  not  have  to 


BOLSHEVISM  AND  PEACE  CONFERENCE    325 

cross  their  legs  under  a  table  with  murderers  and  rob- 
bers, as  the  Commission  appointed  by  the  Peace  Confer- 
ence would  summon  as  witnesses  the  representatives  of 
every  government  in  Russia,  including  Lenin  and 
Trotzky,  and  the  commission  would  make  rules  for  its 
procedure  and  report  to  the  Peace  Conference. 

I  furthermore  stated  in  a  speech  at  the  luncheon  given 
to  me  in  Paris  on  the  10th  of  February,  1919,  as  I  did 
in  the  above-quoted  cable  to  Acting  Consul  Poole  that 
they  would  no  more  degrade  themselves  by  appearing 
before  this  commission  and  would  no  more  associate  with 
murderers  and  robbers  than  I  would  if  summoned  by  a 
court  to  identify  stolen  property  when  the  burglar  was 
being  tried. 

All  of  the  Russian  factions  declined  to  appear  before 
the  commission,  so  the  Prinkipo  Conference  was  aban- 
doned. Notwithstanding,  however,  the  President  ap- 
pointed William  Allen  White,  Italy  appointed  Terretti, 
who  had  been  with  me  in  Russia,  and  some  other  Italian 
of  prominence  to  represent  Italy  on  the  commission.  I 
cannot  recall  whom  England  appointed  to  represent  the 
British  Government,  nor  whom  France  appointed  to  rep- 
resent the  French  Government,  if,  indeed,  they  appointed 
representatives  at  all. 

The  Russians  in  Paris  notified  the  Peace  Conference 
that  they  would  not  associate  with  murderers  and  rob- 
bers representing  the  Soviet  Government  of  Russia,  evi- 
dently thinking  they  would  have  a  general  conference 
instead  of  a  commission  making  its  own  rules  for  pro- 
cedure and  summoning  witnesses  to  appear  before  it. 
The  Soviet  Government  also  declined  to  participate  in 
the  Prinkipo  Conference,  but  not  until  after  refusal  of 
the  Anti-Bolshevik  factions  in  Paris  had  resulted. 

Tchecherin  was  one  of  the  two  Bolsheviks  who  had 
been  interned  in  England.  A  letter  from  Trotzky  to  the 


326    RUSSIA  FROM  THE  AMERICAN  EMBASSY 

British  Ambassador  conveyed  the  thinly  veiled  threat 
that  unless  these  men  were  released,  public  opinion  in 
Soviet  Russia  would  turn  against  the  many  Englishmen 
living  in  Russia  who  openly  expressed  counter-revolu- 
tionary attitudes. 

That  this  letter  was  not  entirely  a  bluff  may  be  seen 
in  the  fact  that  on  August  31st  Captain  Cromie,  a  British 
officer,  was  killed  by  the  Bolsheviks  in  an  attack  on  the 
British  Embassy.  On  the  sixth  of  September  Balfour 
addressed  a  note  to  Tchecherin  strongly  protesting 
against  this  attack  and  demanding  immediate  satisfac- 
tion and  severe  punishment  of  all  those  responsible: 
"If  the  Russian  Soviet  Government  will  not  give  com- 
plete satisfaction  or  if  violence  be  used  against  British 
subjects, "  he  said,  "the  British  Government  will  con- 
sider every  member  of  the  Russian  Government  individ- 
ually responsible,  and  will  take  measures  to  insure  that 
all  the  governments  of  civilized  nations  shall  consider 
them  outside  the  law  and  that  there  shall  be  no  asylum 
for  them  to  go  to." 

While  in  Archangel,  Lindley  told  me  that  every  civi- 
lized government  in  the  world  had  been  notified  they  could 
not  become  a  harbor  for  Lenin  and  Trotzky  without  in- 
curring the  serious  displeasure  of  the  British  Govern- 
ment; that  the  British  Government  would  pursue  Lenin 
and  Trotzky  to  the  ends  of  the  earth.  Yet,  notwithstand- 
ing this  statement  of  the  British  High  Commissioner 
and  the  announcement  of  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs 
Balfour,  less  than  three  years  after  that  the  British  Gov- 
ernment entered  into  a  commercial  treaty  with  Lenin, 
Trotzky,  Tchecherin  and  Krassin,  representing  the  Bol- 
shevik Government  of  Russia.  Selah ! 

Two  weeks  after  this  note  was  sent  the  American  Gov- 
ernment issued  under  date  of  September  21st,  1918,  a  note 
addressed  "To  all  the  Associated  and  Neutral  Govern- 


BOLSHEVISM  AND  PEACE  CONFERENCE    327 

ments"  to  be  communicated  through  American  repre- 
sentatives. This  note  referred  to  the  state  of  terrorism 
then  existing  in  Eussia  in  which  thousands  of  persons 
were  executed  without  trial  and  numberless  barbaric 
crimes  committed,  and  asking  what  action,  if  any,  each 
of  these  governments  expected  to  take  to  show  the  atti- 
tude with  which  civilization  regarded  such  acts. 

On  the  24th  of  October,  1918,  Tchecherin  addressed  a 
long  open  letter  to  President  Wilson  sneering  at  the 
President's  professed  sympathy  for  the  Russian  people 
and  the  League  of  Nations,  charged  the  Allies  with  in- 
spiring counter-revolution,  and  protested  against  the 
arrival  of  Allied  troops.  The  note  concluded  a  denuncia- 
tion of  capitalists  and  stated  that  the  source  of  war  could 
be  destroyed  by  transferring  the  control  of  banks  and 
industries  into  the  hands  of  the  masses. 


CHAPTER  XXI 

BOLSHEVISM  IN  PRINCIPLE  AND  IN  PRACTISE 

How  has  it  been  possible  for  the  Bolsheviks  to  main- 
tain themselves  in  power  when  they  represent  a  small 
part  of  the  Russian  population,  certainly  not  one-fourth, 
probably  not  more  than  one-tenth?  This  question  has 
been  put  to  me  many  times.  My  reply  is  that  the  "  bour- 
geoisie,*' who  include  the  middle  classes,  and  all  the 
land-owning  peasants,  have  been  so  unjustifiably  and 
cruelly  treated  by  the  Bolsheviks  that  they  have  lost  all 
courage.  Many  of  the  Bolshevik  followers,  or  those  who 
were  followers  when  the  Bolshevik  Government  first 
came  in  power,  have  deserted  them.  Bolshevism  would 
not  have  gained  such  headway  in  Russia  had  not  the 
army  been  demoralized  by  General  Order  No.  1,  which 
permitted  the  soldiers  to  select  their  own  officers,  and 
this  was  followed  by  Kerensky,  when  he  became  Minister 
of  War,  issuing  a  decree  abolishing  the  death  penalty. 
It  is  true  that  Kerensky  afterwards  restored  the  death 
penalty;  it  was  made  a  condition  by  Korniloff  upon  his 
accepting  the  position  of  Commander-in-Chief. 

The  Russian  army,  when  Trotzky  made  the  dramatic 
statement  at  Brest-Litovsk  in  February,  1918,  that  the 
peace  treaty  would  not  be  signed  but  that  Russia  would 
fight  no  more,  numbered  about  12  million  men,  accord- 
ing to  the  records,  but  it  had  probably  been  reduced  25 
to  33%  or  more  by  desertions,  as  the  soldiers  had  been 
going  home  ever  since  the  Bolshevik  Government  had 
come  into  power  in  the  previous  November,  1917.  After 
Trotzky 's  statement  that  there  would  be  no  more  fight- 

328 


BOLSHEVISM— PRINCIPLE  AND  PRACTISE     329 

ing  every  freight  and  passenger  train  was  filled  with  sol- 
diers who  paid  no  fare  and  did  not  ask  where  the  train 
was  going  until  after  embarking  on  it ;  they  were  on  the 
roofs,  and  on  the  trucks  and  on  the  platforms. 

The  Bolshevik  army,  which  has  been  estimated  va- 
riously from  two  hundred  thousand  to  seven  hundred 
thousand,  is  scattered  through  Central  and  Western  and 
Northern  Russia  and  is  composed  of  Letts  and  Chinese, 
together  with  conscripted  Russians.  The  Bolshevik 
leaders  arrest  women  and  hold  them  as  hostages  until 
their  husbands,  and  sons  and  brothers  reappear  and  ac- 
cept service  in  the  Bolshevik  army.  The  discipline  in 
this  army  is  very  strict.  The  Russians  act  from  impulse 
and  that  accounts  for  the  following  that  Bolshevism  had 
in  the  beginning.  The  leaders,  Lenin  and  Trotzky  and 
Radek,  Peters  and  Zinovieff  and  others  promised  peace 
to  the  army  wearied  by  three  years  of  fighting — peace, 
food,  and  land. 

Russia  is  inhabited  largely  by  the  Slav  race;  a  race 
possessed  of  more  than  ordinary  common  sense,  with 
good  impulses,  but  with  paradoxical  characteristics. 
When  I  first  arrived  in  Petrograd,  I  was  impressed  by 
the  religious  sentiment  of  the  people.  That  sentiment, 
however,  has  grown  smaller  by  degrees  and  beautifully 
less  under  Bolshevik  rule.  I  could  see  a  decided  change 
even  in  the  cab  drivers.  Under  the  Czar,  who  was  the 
head  of  the  Greek  Church,  a  driver  would  not  pass  a 
church  or  cathedral  without  crossing  himself,  although 
he  might  pass  the  same  cathedral  thirty  times  during  the 
day;  under  the  Bolshevik  rule  it  was  a  rare  thing  for  a 
cabby  to  cross  himself,  although  he  might  come  into  the 
very  shadow  of  St.  Isaac's  or  the  Kazan  Cathedral.  The 
Provisional  Government  attempted  to  foster  the  church, 
but  the  Bolshevik  Government  recognizes  no  religious 
sentiment  and  no  Supreme  Being.  With  the  abdication 


330    RUSSIA  FROM  THE  AMERICAN  EMBASSY 

of  the  Czar,  the  church  lost  its  titular  head,  but  the  min- 
istry of  the  Provisional  Government  still  recognized  th-j 
existence  of  the  church  by  appointing  a  Procurator  of 
the  Holy  Synod.  Russians  are  naturally  sympathetic 
and  tenderhearted,  but  they  are  fatalists ;  they  are  super- 
/  stitious  to  a  degree.  I  have  never  visited  a  count ry 
where  human  life  was  held  as  cheaply  as  it  is  in  Russia. 
During  the  first  Revolution  and  during  the  attempted 
Bolshevik  Revolution  of  July  17th-18th,  1917,  and  during 
the  Bolshevik  Revolution  of  November,  1917,  and  during 
the  whole  period  from  that  time  to  the  present  when  a 
murdered  person  was  found  on  the  streets  no  questions 
were  asked,  no  effort  was  made  to  apprehend  the  mur- 
derer, but  the  corpse  was  taken  to  the  morgue  (provided 
the  deceased  had  no  friends  cognizant  of  the  murder)  and 
interred  in  the  public  burying  ground.  I  remember  one 
incident  when  a  woman  came  out  of  a  house  chasing  a 
man  and  yelling  that  he  had  stolen  her  pocketbook.  The 
woman  was  soon  joined  by  an  angry  mob  who  pursued 
the  fleeing  man  and  captured  and  cruelly  murdered  him. 
Meantime  the  woman  had  returned  to  her  apartment  and 
had  found  her  purse  which  she  accused  the  man  of  steal- 
ing, and  attempted  to  restrain  the  mob  saying  she  had 
found  her  pocketbook.  Thereupon  the  crowd  turned 
upon  the  woman  and  put  her  to  death.  Occurrences  of 
that  character  were  frequent  from  Nov.,  1917,  to  Nov., 
1918,  when  I  left  Archangel  and  I  learn  from  well  au- 
thenticated sources  that  they  have  continued  with  in- 
creasing frequency  since,  as  the  Bolshevik  rule  has  been 
characterized  by  augmented  cruelty  and  mercilessness. 
In  the  midst  of  the  strenuous  effort  to  form  a  stable 
government  out  of  the  uncertain  elements  at  Archangel, 
I  received  a  letter  quoting  from  Lovat  Fraser,  a  traveler 
and  writer  and  considered  one  of  the  best  authorities 
on  the  Russian  people : 


BOLSHEVISM— PRINCIPLE  AND  PRACTISE     331 

"The  only  possible  course  for  the  Allies  until  stability 
has  been  restored  is  to  insist  on  the  Russians  obeying 
their  orders.  There  must  be  no  speechifying,  no  more 
quarreling  with  rival  parties,  no  more  meetings  of  the 
illiterate  rank  and  file  to  consider  whether  they  will  or 
will  not  do  this  or  that.  I  do  not  in  the  least  believe  that 
there  will  be  a  recrudescence  of  Bolshevism  as  a  result 
of  Allied  action.  The  Russian  people  will  obey  strength, 
and  the  nearest  strength,  and  nothing  else.  That  Russian 
general  who  said  the  other  day  that  many  of  his  country- 
men would  fight  for  any  man  with  a  big  stick  knew  what 
he  was  talking  about. 

"Germany  understood  the  Russian  character  better 
than  any  other  country.  Until  the  beginning  of  the  war 
Germany  was  making  rapid  progress  toward  monopo- 
lizing the  foreign  trade  of  Russia,  and  if  the  war  had 
been  postponed  or  deferred  for  ten  years,  Germany 
would  have  had  such  a  firm  foothold  in  Russia  that  it 
would  have  been  impossible  to  dislodge  her;  Germany 
was  better  acquainted  with  Russian  resources  than  was 
the  Russian  government  itself.  Germany  took  advantage 
of  Russia's  misfortunes  to  end  the  Russo-Japanese  War 
and  of  the  threatened  revolution  to  negotiate  a  very 
advantageous  commercial  treaty  of  ten  years'  duration. 
Under  the  treaty  Germany  had  succeeded  in  capturing 
more  than  fifty  per  cent  of  the  entire  foreign  commerce 
of  Great  Russia.  The  Russian  merchants  and  manufac- 
turers, and  the  Russian  people  who  were  not  under  the 
domination  of  Grermany,  became  very  restive  under  the 
commercial  treaty  of  1905,  which  had  been  in  operation 
for  nine  years  when  the  war  began.  Germany  well  knew 
that  this  treaty  on  its  expiration  would  neither  be  re- 
newed nor  extended,  and  that  was  one  of  the  potential 
reasons  why  Germany  thought  she  could  subjugate  Rus- 
sia and  France,  and  consequently  did  not  hesitate  to 


332   RUSSIA  FROM  THE  AMERICAN  EMBASSY 

bring  on  the  war,  little  thinking  that  England  would 
come  to  the  rescue  of  Belgium,  and  not  dreaming  that 
America  would  be  involved  in  the  contest.  The  world 
war  was  waged  with  the  loss  of  eight  millions  of  lives 
and  untold  and  incalculable  treasure.  After  four  years 
of  struggle,  hostilities  nominally  ceased.  Almost  two 
and  a  half  years  have  elapsed  since  the  armistice  was 
signed,  and  the  work  of  reconstruction  in  the  victorious 
countries  has  made  slow  progress.  Germany,  familiar 
as  she  was  with  the  deplorable  result  of  an  invaded  do- 
main, took  care  when  she  saw  the  tide  of  war  turning 
against  her  that  her  industries  should  not  be  destroyed 
as  she  had  dismantled  and  stolen  those  of  France  and 
Belgium;  took  care  that  her  fields  should  not  be  laid 
waste  and  her  cities,  villages  and  hamlets  leveled  to  the 
ground,  as  were  those  of  the  countries  she  had  invaded. 
It  was  the  boast  of  the  German  Emperor  that  ''the  soil 
of  the  Fatherland  was  not  desecrated  by  the  tramp  of 
hostile  armies." 

The  Military  Party  in  Germany  had  used  Lenin  and 
Trotzky  to  demoralize  Russia's  immense  army,  and  had 
succeeded  in  withdrawing  Russia  from  the  contest.  This 
was  done  in  the  face  of  the  protests  of  the  conservative 
element  of  the  German  population,  but  was  aided  by  the 
Socialists  in  Germany.  Little  did  the  General  Staff  of 
the  Imperial  Government  think  when  the  fatal  dose  was 
handed  to  Russia  that  the  poisoned  chalice  would  be  com- 
mended to  her  own  lips  within  twelve  months.  Germany 
was  defeated  on  the  battlefield,  and  her  armies  have  been 
subjugated  and  shorn  of  their  power,  but  it  is  not  so 
with  industrial  Germany.  Germany  is  using  the  same 
means  and  pursuing  the  same  policy  in  her  economic 
war,  which  has  not  only  begun  but  has  made  considerable 
headway  with  Russia.  Germany's  commercial  agents 
are  the  only  ones  admitted  into  Soviet  Russia.  Germany 


BOLSHEVISM— PRINCIPLE  AND  PRACTISE     333 

is  making  her  plans  to  wage  an  economic  war  by  the  same 
unscrupulous  methods  which  she  used  in  waging  the 
world  war.  She  has  quit  the  manufacture  of  poisonous 
gases  which  had  physical  effect,  but  she  has  not  aban- 
doned her  devious  ways  by  which  she  hopes  through 
neutral  and  deceitful  agencies  to  capture  the  commerce 
of  the  world.  She  has  been  prohibited  from  constructing 
submarines  with  which  to  prey  upon  the  commerce  of 
the  neutral  countries  and  destroy  innocent  lives,  but  she 
has  not  forsaken  her  manufacturing  power;  on  the  con- 
trary she  is  rapidly  utilizing  it  in  her  efforts  to  extend 
German  trade. 

The  German  people  have  changed  their  form  of  gov- 
ernment, but  it  is  as  difficult  for  a  leopard  to  change  his 
spots  as  it  is  for  the  Germans  to  change  their  character. 
The  present  government  of  Germany  is  following  in  the 
footsteps  of  the  Imperial  government  in  all  matters  per- 
taining to  German  domination  in  the  commercial  world. 

I  was  astounded  upon  returning  to  this  country  to  find 
a  much  larger  number  of  advocates  of  Bolshevism  than 
I  thought  possible.  The  basic  principle  of  the  Bolshevik 
government  is  what  they  call  the  "dictatorship  of  the 
proletariat, " — which  means  the  severe  oppression  of  a 
class  or  of  certain  classes.  It  is  a  worse  form  of  tyranny 
than  absolute  monarchy — bad  as  that  is.  This  basic 
principle  put  in  practise  is  that  no  man  or  woman  is  al- 
lowed to  vote  who  does  not  perform  manual  labor.  The 
Bolshevik  constitutition  prohibits  from  the  exercise  of 
suffrage  all  merchants,  or  dealers  in  securities,  or  pro- 
fessional men  who  are  not  in  the  employ  of  the  govern- 
ment, and  even  domestics  or  servants  who  work  for  the 
proscribed  classes.  The  Bolshevik  theory  strikes  at  the 
home  as  Americans  understand  it.  The  decrees  of  Bol- 
shevism made  marriage  and  divorce  so  easy  that  they 
were  to  be  had  for  the  asking.  Simply  a  verbal  an- 


334    RUSSIA  FROM  THE  AMERICAN  EMBASSY 

nouncement  to  an  irresponsible  citizen  legalized  both 
marriage  and  divorce  under  the  Lenin  and  Trotzky 
regime. 

After  I  returned  to  the  United  States,  still  being  Am- 
bassador to  Russia  but  on  the  inactive  list,  I  was  asked 
repeatedly  as  to  the  reports  of  the  Bolshevik  theories 
on  personal  or  domestic  relations.  I  replied  it  was  true 
that  in  some  part  or  parts  of  Russia  local  authorities 
had  issued  decrees  nationalizing  women.  I  saw  nothing 
of  the  application  from  my  own  observation.  I  only 
know  of  such  decree  or  decrees  from  having  seen  them  in 
official  publications  of  the  Bolshevik  government. 

The  Central  Organization,  that  dominated  by  Lenin 
and  Trotzky,  had  never  nationalized  women  by  a  decree 
when  I  left,  but  it  had  issued  a  decree  which  I  saw  in 
Izvestia,  the  official  publication  of  Lenin  and  Trotzky, 
making  divorce  and  marriage  as  easy  as  to  require  only 
a  notice  to  some  man  by  a  married  couple  that  they  had 
agreed  to  separate,  and  likewise  a  notice  that  two  un- 
married people  had  decided  to  marry.  There  was  no 
limit  of  time  as  to  how  long  the  marriage  should  hold. 

There  are  some  well-meaning  .people  in  the  United 
States  who  advocate  leaving  Russia  "to  stew  in  her  own 
juice."  Passing  over  for  a  moment  the  selfishness  of  this 
policy,  I  would  call  attention  to  the  effect  of  Bolshevism 
already  seen  on  the  uneducated  of  every  European  coun- 
try. All  of  the  unrest  throughout  Europe  and  in  this 
country  and  in  every  country  on  the  Western  hemisphere 
can  be  traced  back  to  this  Bolshevik  experiment  in  Rus- 
sia. The  Allies  could  have  exterminated  Bolshevism  in 
Russia  and  saved  their  face  if  they  had  taken  steps  to  this 
end  before  the  armistice  was  signed.  This  Bolshevism 
or  Soviet  Government  as  operated  in  Russia  has  been  a 
disgrace  to  civilization  and  a  reflection  upon  the  Allies. 
Bolshevism  even  dared  to  show  its  head  in  this  country. 


BOLSHEVISM— PRINCIPLE  AND  PRACTISE     335 

It  has  made  strenuous  effort  to  depose  the  conservative 
administration  of  the  labor  organizations  of  the  United 
States.  It  has  presumed  to  induce  the  members  of  those 
organizations  to  assume  control  of  the  Government  by 
'  *  direct  action. ' '  Lenin  and  Trotzky  and  their  followers 
have  not  hesitated  from  the  time  they  came  into  control 
to  call  the  Government  of  the  United  States,  under  which 
this  country  has  been  the  haven  of  the  oppressed  at  all 
times  and  for  all  races,  a  "capitalistic  government." 

A  temporizing  policy  with  Bolshevism  in  the  United 
States  is  not  only  unwise  but  may  result  in  the  under- 
mining of  our  institutions,  which  have  withstood  the  test 
of  time,  and  which  every  American  citizen  should  be  will- 
ing to  sacrifice  his  life  to  maintain.  I  advocated  the 
eradication  of  Bolshevism  in  Russia  because  it  is  a  blot 
on  the  civilization  of  the  Twentieth  Century,  and  for  the 
additional  reason  that  it  is  to  our  interest  to  exterminate 
it  in  the  land  of  its  birth.  I  say  "our  interest"  from 
two  points  of  view.  First:  If  Bolshevism  is  permitted 
to  thrive  in  Russia  it  will  promote  unrest  in  all  coun- 
tries. Second:  It  is  our  duty  to  the  Russian  people, 
who  have  always  been  favorable  to  America,  and  whose 
greatest  offense  is  that  they  favored  the  Allies  as  against 
Germany  in  the  world  war,  to  relieve  their  country  of 
the  injury  and  disgrace  inflicted  upon  it  by  Soviet  Rule. 

When  I  first  returned  to  America  from  Russia  it  ap- 
pears that  I  was  misunderstood  in  expressions  of  my 
opinion  of  Lenin.  I  said  he  was  not  only  honest  com- 
mercially but  honest  intellectually,  and  a  fanatic  who 
would  sacrifice  his  sons  and  his  wife  and  his  own  life  for 
the  promotion  of  a  world-wide  social  revolution.  This 
was  said  to  contrast  him  with  Trotzky,  whom  I  consid- 
ered an  adventurer  pure  and  simple,  without  convictions, 
fond  of  display  and  luxury,  liking  to  be  in  the  limelight, 
but  possessed  of  executive  ability  of  a  high  degree. 


336   RUSSIA  FROM  THE  AMERICAN  EMBASSY 

Trotzky  foresaw  the  outcome  of  the  war  more  clearly 
than  Lenin,  which  accounts  for  his  grandstand  play  at 
the  first  Brest-Litovsk  Peace  Conference,  and  his  refusal 
to  attend  the  second  conference,  and  his  resignation  as 
Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs.  Trotzky  after  accepting 
appointment  as  Minister  of  War  flirted  with  the  Allied 
Military  Missions  when  he  asked  their  assistance  in  or- 
ganizing an  army,  professedly  for  the  promotion  of 
world-wide  social  revolution  and  incidentally  for  oppos- 
ing the  German  advance — Germany  had  an  imperialistic 
government  at  that  time — but  Lenin  would  never  con- 
sent to  fighting  Germany.  This  move  was  encouraged 
by  me,  as  I  felt  confident  that  the  army  when  organized, 
and  after  checking  the  Germans  and  interesting  them  so 
that  they  could  not  send  assistance  to  Hindenburg  and 
Ludendorff  at  the  Western  front,  could  be  influenced 
against  a  world-wide  social  revolution. 

Lenin  was  the  great  intellect  that  dominated  the  Bol- 
shevik Revolution  in  Russia.  Every  time  that  Lenin  and 
Trotzky  disagreed,  Lenin  came  out  victor.  Lenin  led 
a  simple  life,  while  Trotzky  lived  a  luxurious  life.  They 
both,  however,  were  ruthless.  They  agreed  in  the  policy 
of  instituting  a  reign  of  terror  to  perpetuate  Bolshevik 
supremacy,  and  now,  after  they  have  inflicted  untold 
damage  on  Russia,  which  it  will  require  two  or  more 
generations  to  repair,  they  are  professing  to  abandon 
communism.  In  my  judgment  this  is  camouflage,  a  mere 
pretense,  a  move  to  strengthen  their  tottering  reign  and 
to  afford  an  opportunity  to  propagandize  their  perni- 
cious doctrines  in  other  countries. 

I  have  sometimes  wondered  what  would  have  been  the 
result  if  I  had  not  been  compelled  to  leave  Russia  when 
I  did,  or  had  remained  in  Russia  after  the  Armistice  was 
signed.  Admiral  McCully,  whom  I  saw  in  Washington 
within  the  last  three  months,  said  when  he  put  me  on 


BOLSHEVISM— PRINCIPLE  AND  PRACTISE     337 

the  cruiser  Olympia  at  Archangel  on  the  6th  of  No- 
vember he  never  expected  to  see  me  alive  again.  Major 
Williams,  of  the  Red  Cross  Mission  to  Northern  Russia, 
whom  I  also  met  in  Washington,  expressed  the  same 
opinion. 

As  narrated  in  the  foregoing,  King  George  of  Eng- 
land agreed  with  my  policy  of  exterminating  Bolshevism, 
and  that  had  been  the  desire  of  the  French  Government 
from  the  beginning.  When  on  the  eve  of  my  departure 
from  Archangel  I  received  a  cable  from  the  Department 
of  State  saying ' t  It  is  the  plan  of  our  Government  for  you 
to  return  to  Archangel  when  your  health  and  strength 
permit,"  it  would  have  been  my  effort  as  the  result  of 
my  deep-seated  convictions  that  Bolshevik  supremacy 
should  be  overthrown  in  Russia, 

It  is  likely  that  President  Wilson  would  not  have  ob- 
jected to  sending  more  American  troops  to  Archangel; 
and  if  he  had  consented  thereto,  England  and  France 
certainly  would  have  cooperated,  and  Italy  and  the  other 
Allies  possibly  would  have  also.  I  certainly  would  have 
requested  additional  troops,  because  I  knew  well  that 
the  Bolshevik  Soviet  Government  did  not  represent  more 
than  ten  per  cent  at  the  outside  of  the  Russian  people, 
and  only  maintained  itself  in  power  by  the  assistance 
of  Chinese  and  Lettish  soldiers  whom  they  were  able  to 
pay  with  the  Russian  and  Roumanian  gold  that  they  had 
commandeered  or  stolen. 

The  Secretary  of  State  at  that  time  would,  I  think, 
have  been  favorable,  and  the  sending  of  troops  there 
would  have  enabled  the  Allied  forces  in  Northern  Russia 
to  depose  the  government  of  Lenin  and  Trotzky,  and 
thereby  have  spared  Russia  at  least  two  years  of  suffer- 
ing and  Europe  an  equal  period  of  difficulties  which  came 
near  producing  chaos  on  the  Continent  and  threatened 
England  itself. 


338    RUSSIA  FROM  THE  AMERICAN  EMBASSY 

I  do  not  mean  that  this  Bolshevik  Soviet  Government 
should  have  been  overthrown  by  any  other  power  than 
the  Russian  people  themselves,  but  the  presence  of  Al- 
lied troops  in  Russia  would  have  encouraged  the  people 
to  hold  their  differences  in  abeyance  for  the  time  being-, 
and  I  certainly  would  have  contributed  all  in  my  power 
to  that  end. 

From  the  first  I  contended  that  Bolshevism  did  not 
have  followers  in  Russia  exceeding  twenty  per  cent  of  the 
Russian  people,  and  that  following  has  been  diminishir.; 
until  it  is  now  less  than  five  per  cent.  I  furthermore  ex- 
pressed the  opinion  in  cables  and  dispatches  from  Arch- 
angel to  the  State  Department  and  from  London  that 
order  could  not  be  restored  in  Europe  as  long  as  there 
was  chaos  in  Russia.  Lloyd  George  recognized  this  by 
advocating  that  Russia  should  be  authorized  to  send 
delegates  to  the  Peace  Conference  and  President  Wilson 
recognized  this  by  suggesting  the  Prinkipo  Conference. 

My  conclusions  as  to  the  character  and  purposes  of 
Bolshevism,  as  set  forth  in  the  private  letters  and  official 
reports  sent  by  me  during  my  residence  in  Petrograd, 
Vologda  and  Archangel  have  not  undergone  changes,  save 
that  they  have  become  intensified,  if  possible,  since  my 
return  to  the  United  States.  I  received  a  telegram  from 
a  prominent  newspaper  recently  asking  my  opinion  about 
Lenin's  reported  change  of  heart  on  world-wide  social 
revolution.  I  was  asked,  "Do  you  believe  Lenin  sincere 
or  that  he  can  hold  fanatical  followers?"  My  reply, 
which  shows  my  present  attitude,  was : 

"I  would  not  trust  Lenin's  promises  and  doubt  his 
sincerity.  He  has  stated  on  more  than  one  occasion  that 
he  would  not  hesitate  to  violate  a  written  contract  if  he 
could  promote  his  main  object  of  a  world-wide  social 
revolution  by  so  doing.  I  have  always  charged  that  Lenin 
would  sacrifice  his  wife  and  children  and  even  his  own 


BOLSHEVISM— PRINCIPLE  AND  PRACTISE     339 

life  if  he  thought  he  could  promote  a  world-wide  social 
revolution  by  doing  so.  He  has  been  ruthless  in  his  ad- 
ministration of  Russian  affairs  for  almost  three  and  one- 
half  years  and  when  England  first  offered  to  make  a  com- 
mercial treaty  with  the  Bolshevik  Soviet  Government  on 
condition  that  the  latter  would  cease  propagandizing  in 
British  territory,  he  manifested  willingness  to  enter  into 
an  agreement  to  this  effect.  But  when  the  British  Gov- 
ernment demanded  that  the  agreement  should  include  the 
Third  Internationale  also,  Lenin  said  he  could  not  con- 
trol the  Third  Internationale,  and  thereby  was  guilty  of 
falsifying.  I  agree  with  English  sentiment  that  calls 
the  commercial  treaty  with  the  Soviet  Government  'the 
unclean  thing.'  Lenin  was  first  sent  into  Russia  as  a 
German  agent  to  demoralize  the  Russian  army  and  with- 
draw Russia  from  the  world  war.  His  administration 
has  been  marked  by  theft  and  murder.  I  do  not  believe 
in  trusting  thieves  and  murderers. ' ' 

Three  days  later  I  received  from  a  different  city  this 
inquiry : 

"Russia  has  asked  the  United  States  to  enter  into  a 
trade  agreement  following  Great  Britain.  Will  you 
kindly  wire  your  opinion  whether  such  an  agreement 
should  be  made  together  with  your  reasons  why  it  should 
or  why  it  should  not?" 

To  this  I  made  the  following  reply : 

"If  we  wish  to  strengthen  the  Bolshevik  Soviet  Govern- 
ment of  Russia  the  most  effective  way  to  do  is  to  enter 
into  trade  relations  with  it.  The  invariable  rule  of  that 
government  is  that  all  foreign  commerce  is  directly  and 
absolutely  under  its  control.  I  think  I  have  answered  your 
inquiry  completely  by  this  statement  unless  we  desire 
to  promote  a  world-wide  social  revolution  and  to  assist 
in  maintaining  an  experiment  in  government  which  is 
'the  greatest  failure  in  all  history'  and  an  experiment 


340    RUSSIA  FROM  THE  AMERICAN  EMBASSY 

which  is  not  new  but  has  met  with  signal  failure  every 
time  it  has  been  tried.  I  think  it  would  be  a  grievous 
mistake  for  any  government  and  a  stultifying  crime  for 
our  government  to  enter  into  trade  relations  with  the 
Bolshevik  government  of  Russia." 


CHAPTER  XXII 
RUSSIA— THE  CHIEF  VICTIM  OF  THE  WORLD  WAR 

WHO  will  gainsay  that  Russia  was  and  is  the  chief  vic- 
tim of  the  World  War!  Belgium  and  Prance  are  rapidly 
recovering,  as  are  the  Balkan  States;  Germany  and 
Austria  were  never  laid  waste  by  a  hostile  army,  nor 
was  England.  Turkey  is  no  worse  off  than  before  the 
war,  and  all  the  other  belligerents  were  too  far  removed 
from  the  scene  of  battle  to  have  suffered  any  devastation 
whatever.  Russia  not  only  lost  more  of  her  sons  in  the 
war  than  did  any  other  nation,  notwithstanding  she  with- 
drew from  the  contest  almost  a  year  before  it  ended; 
but  no  progress  has  been  made  toward  her  recuperation. 
On  the  other  hand  Russia  was  in  the  throes  of  civil  war 
for  two  years  after  the  Armistice;  her  industries  have 
been  wrecked ;  her  transportation  lines  are  idle  for  want 
of  motive  power  and  equipment ;  her  intelligencia  are  in 
exile;  her  proud  capital  is  deserted  and  infested  with 
epidemics  and  racked  by  famine.  And  what  is  the  cause  ? 
Bolshevism ! 

She  deserves  a  better  fate.  Twice  she  saved  the  con- 
flict before  America  entered  the  war.  Twice  she  has  de- 
fended our  Government,  once  when  England  was  about 
to  recognize  the  Southern  Confederacy,  and  once  when 
our  country  was  in  the  panic  of  1893,  by  tendering  three 
hundred  million  dollars  in  gold — true  the  offer  was  not 
accepted,  but  the  good  will  was  manifested;  nor  should 
we  forget  that  Russia  sold  us  Alaska  for  the  paltry  sum 
of  $7,000,000. 

In  my  judgment  too  much  credit  cannot  be  given  the 

341 


342    RUSSIA  FROM  THE  AMERICAN  EMBASSY 

labor  unions  led  by  Samuel  Gompers  and  his  conserva- 
tive colleagues  in  France  for  not  siding  with  the  Bol- 
sheviks in  Russia.  I  have  no  sympathy  with  any  move- 
ment which  has  for  its  object  the  disruption  of  labor 
unions. 

On  my  return  to  St.  Louis  after  three  and  one-half 
years'  absence  a  banquet  was  given  me  at  which  I  made 
an  address  which  was  published  in  full  in  the  dailies  of 
the  city,  but  I  do  not  think  that  speech  can  be  summarized 
more  tersely  than  it  was  in  * '  America  at  Work, ' '  of  Octo- 
ber 16th,  1919,  under  the  caption  of,  "The  Message  of 
Ambassador  Francis  to  America'*: 

"First,  that  Russia's  continuation  in  the  World  War 
under  the  Provisional  Government,  until  March,  1918, 
shortened  the  conflict  by  at  least  a  year,  and  perhaps 
saved  European  civilization. 

"Second,  that  the  issued  joined  by  Lenin  is  one  which 
the  whole  world  will  have  to  meet,  that  true  democracy 
and  sound  economic  development  must  either  conquer 
Bolshevism  or  be  conquered  by  it, 

"And,  third,  that  in  the  hour  of  Russia's  bitter  need 
that  help  which  she  so  richly  deserves  at  the  hands  of 
the  world  by  reason  of  her  self -forgetful  sacrifice  of  pre- 
cious lives  and  treasure  in  the  cause  of  liberty  and  de- 
mocracy can  only  be  rendered  through  the  instrumen- 
tality of  the  League  of  Nations. 

"For  three  years  this  citizen  of  the  United  States  has 
occupied  a  unique  position  in  our  diplomatic  service. 
He  has  worked  unafraid  in  the  very  teeth  of  the  flames 
which  were  threatening  the  whole  fabric  of  civilization. 
He  has  said,  as  a  great  missionary  of  liberty,  of  life  and 
faith  nineteen  centuries  ago,  'This  one  thing  I  do.'  It 
was  an  impressive  moment  when  at  the  banquet  tendered 
him  by  his  friends  and  fellow  townsmen,  he  said,  'I  hold 
myself  ready  to  go  back  to  Russia  at  the  call  of  my  Gov- 
ernment ;  I  may  even  return  without  that  call. ' 

"Ambassador  Francis  returns  to  America  not  simply 
as  the  Ambassador  of  the  United  States ;  he  has  received 


RUSSIA— CHIEF  VICTIM  OF  WORLD  WAR    343 

a  commission  from  a  higher  power.  He  stands  before 
his  countrymen  to  proclaim  the  inexorable  working  of 
laws  written  not  in  human  statute  books  but  in  the 
eternal  constitution  of  men  and  nations  by  Him  who 
'hath  made  of  one  blood  all  men  who  dwell  upon  the 
earth. '  He  has  come  back  to  tell  us  that  it  is  impossible 
that  we  should  leave  180,000,000  human  beings  helpless 
and  hopeless  in  command  of  a  ruthless,  conscienceless 
and  bloodthirsty  oligarchy,  directed  by  a  man  with  the 
brain  of  a  sage,  and  the  heart  of  a  monster,  without  our- 
selves being  involved  in  the  threatened  ruin  of  the  great 
people  which  compose  one-seventh  of  all  the  land  of  the 
earth. 

* '  Never  was  Ambassador  Francis  on  a  more  truly  dip- 
lomatic mission  than  now.  Against  him  in  his  message 
are  ranged  the  traditional  provinciality  of  the  people 
of  the  United  States,  the  sense  of  the  remoteness  of  the 
Orient,  the  deadening  effect  upon  our  sensibilities  and 
sympathies  of  the  breadth  of  the  Atlantic  and  half  the 
continent  of  Europe  on  the  one  side  and  the  whole  width 
of  the  vast  Pacific  on  the  other,  and  the  narrow  contrac- 
tile councils  of  a  group  of  blind  and  selfish  political 
leaders,  distributed  somewhat  impartially  among  both 
parties  in  the  United  States. ' ' 

When  I  was  cabling  to  our  Government  from  Arch- 
angel recommending  armed  intervention  and  when  I  was 
arguing  with  President  Wilson  and  appealing  to  him 
on  the  steamer  George  Washington  to  let  me  go  back 
to  Petrograd,  accompanied  by  American  soldiers,  I  used 
the  above  reasons.  President  Wilson  suggested  per- 
mitting the  Russians  to  settle  their  own  differences,  and 
when  I  told  him  that  would  entail  great  human  slaughter 
he  replied  that  no  one  abhorred  bloodshed  more  than  he 
did,  but  if  I  was  right  that  he  thought  "it  must  needs 
come."  This  was  on  his  first  return  to  America,  when 
he  made  a  stay  of  only  eight  days  in  Washington.  Presi- 
dent Wilson  may  have  been  influenced  by  my  emaciated 


344    RUSSIA  FROM  THE  AMERICAN  EMBASSY 

physical  condition  and  apparent  weakness,  or  he  may 
have  thought  the  League  of  Nations  would  be  formed  and 
America  would  join  the  League  and  that  would  serve  the 
same  purpose.  He  returned  to  New  York  July  8th,  1919. 
I  met  him  there,  but  only  for  a  moment,  and  did  not  have 
opportunity  to  broach  the  Russian  problem.  He  soon 
started  on  the  tour  of  the  country,  and  if  he  had  not 
broken  down  I  have  always  thought  the  result  would  have 
been  different — America  would  have  joined  the  modified 
League  and  Russia  would  have  been  saved. 

In  my  opinion  Woodrow  Wilson  will  live  in  history 
as  one  of  the  greatest  of  Presidents,  as  a  lover  of  his  fel- 
lows, and  as  a  patriotic  American! 


CHAPTER  XXin 

RETROSPECT 

THE  foregoing  pages,  with  the  exception  of  a  few  inter- 
lineations, were  written  over  two  years  ago,  but  were  not 
published  because  I  was  still  nominal  American  Ambassa- 
dor to  Eussia.  I  presented  my  resignation  to  President 
Wilson  on  March  3rd,  1921,  in  the  following  communica- 
tion: 

' '  My  dear  Mr.  President : 

"I  beg  herewith  to  tender  my  resignation  as  Ameri- 
can Ambassador  to  Eussia.  I  have  made  effort  to  resign 
three  or  more  times  since  my  return  from  Eussia,  but 
have  been  asked  by  the  Secretary  of  State  not  to  do  so — 
have  drawn  no  salary  since  April  26th,  1919,  since  which 
time  have  been  on  the  inactive  list  of  ambassadors.'* 

Shortly  after  Secretary  of  State  Hughes  announced 
his  Eussian  policy,  I  wrote  congratulating  him  thereon, 
and  called  attention  to  my  resignation  with  the  request 
that  it  be  accepted.  Secretary  Hughes  replied  that  the 
letter  of  resignation  could  not  be  found  in  the  State  De- 
partment nor  at  the  White  House,  and  that  if  I  would  for- 
ward my  resignation  he  would  submit  it  to  the  President 
and  have  it  promptly  accepted.  I  did  so  in  two  communi- 
cations, a  copy  of  the  one  presented  to  President  Wilson, 
and  one  dated  May  18th,  1921,  which  was  an  exact  copy 
thereof,  addressed  to  President  Harding,  who  chose  to 
accept  the  latter,  and  a  letter  dated  31st  of  May,  1921,  of 
which  the  following  is  a  copy : 

' '  My  dear  Mr.  Francis : 

''There  has  come  to  my  attention  yours  of  May  18th, 
tendering  your  resignation  as  Ambassador  for  the  United 

'  345 


346    RUSSIA  FROM  THE  AMERICAN  EMBASSY 

States  to  Russia.  I  beg  to  advise  you  of  the  acceptance 
of  your  resignation,  and  at  the  same  time  thank  you  for 
the  signal  service  which  you  rendered  to  your  country 
in  that  capacity. 

"Very  truly  yours, 
(Signed)   "WARREN  G.  HARDING." 

This  much  in  explanation  of  the  delay  in  publication 
of  *  'Russia  from  the  American  Embassy. " 

In  correcting  the  proof  of  this  book  there  is  one  thought 
that  impresses  me,  and  that  is  the  horror  of  Bolshevism 
and  how  Russia  is  to  be  saved  from  its  curse  and  all  other 
countries  from  its  menace. 

I  still  believe  that  Germany  employed  Lenin  to  demoral- 
ize the  Russian  Army,  that  fact  having  been  proven  by 
General  Hoffmann,  and  that  the  entente  would  have  been 
justified  in  deposing  the  Bolshevik-Soviet  Government  of 
Russia  before  the  armistice  was  signed,  as  recommended 
in  my  cable  of  2nd  of  May,  1918,  from  Vologda,  framed 
after  I  had  given  the  Soviets  every  encouragement  to 
resist  the  encroachments  of  Germany. 

When  I  arrived  in  London  from  Archangel,  during  all 
the  two  weeks  I  spent  in  Paris,  in  my  home-coming  on 
Steamer  George  Washington,  in  my  testimony  before 
the  Overman  Committee  of  the  Senate  on  Bolshevism,  in 
all  my  public  addresses,  interviews,  magazine  articles,  I 
endeavored  to  impress  my  hearers  and  readers  with  the 
menace  of  Bolshevism.  I  argued  that  it  was  impossible 
to  restore  peace  to  Europe  with  chaos  prevailing  in 
Russia.  These  predictions  have  all  been  fulfilled.  You 
cannot  pick  up  a  newspaper  or  periodical  without  seeing  a 
dispatch  or  an  article  about  the  deplorable  plight  of  Rus- 
sia under  Bolshevik  rule,  or  the  growing  danger  of  the 
spread  of  Bolshevism  into  some  other  country.  The 
I.  W.  W.  chief,  "Big  Bill"  Haywood,  has  gone  to  Russia 
and  forfeited  his  bond  by  doing  so ;  I  was  told  by  a  well- 


RETROSPECT  347 

informed  man  that  the  I.  "W.  W.  organization  had  four 
million  members  in  the  U.  S.  and  the  cables  inform  us 
that  Haywood  received  an  ovation  in  Moscow.  Further- 
more, at  the  national  meeting  of  the  Socialist  Party  held 
in  Detroit  in  July,  1918,  a  resolution  was  introduced  to 
the  effect  that  the  convention  should  yield  obedience  to 
the  Soviet  Government  of  Russia,  and  that  resolution  had 
such  enthusiastic  support  that  it  was  laid  over  for  con- 
sideration. 

.  At  the  American  Federation  of  Labor  now  in  session  in 
Denver,  Gompers  had  the  fight  of  his  life  for  reelection 
to  the  Presidency.  He  was  opposed  by  the  radicals  in  the 
organization  because  he  had  courageously  stood  against 
Bolshevism — the  opposition  polled  over  12,500  votes. 
The  Bolsheviks  are  propagandizing  continuously  and 
zealously.  I  have  changed  my  mind  about  Lenin ;  upon 
returning  to  America  I  expressed  belief  in  his  sincerity, 
while  a  fanatic  and  ruthless  and  unscrupulous.  I  have 
lost  confidence  in  his  honesty  and  think  him  as  great  a 
hypocrite  as  Tchecherin,  who,  while  professing  to  pursue 
the  policy  of  establishing  friendly  commercial  relations 
with  all  countries,  secretly  instructs  his  representatives 
therein  to  do  all  in  their  power  to  stir  up  revolution  and 
opposition  to  the  governments  to  which  they  are  ac- 
credited. Lenin  is  quiet  at  the  Third  Internationale, 
which  is  meeting  in  Moscow  at  this  writing,  while  the 
radicals  seem  to  have  captured  the  Assembly — Trotzky, 
Zenovieff  and  Radek  and  that  ilk.  Lenin  has  always  been 
able  to  have  his  own  way  in  Russia. 

If  the  Russians  opposed  to  the  Bolsheviks  had  con- 
sented to  go  into  the  Prinkipo  Conference  as  President 
Wilson  proposed,  this  state  of  affairs  might,  and  most 
likely  would,  have  been  avoided ;  they  may  say  that  the 
Soviet  Government  refused  to  go  to  Prinkipo  also;  if 
they  had  stayed  away,  their  very  absence  would  have  been 
the  death  knell  to  Bolshevism.  The  Kolchak,  Deniken, 


348    RUSSIA  FROM  THE  AMERICAN  EMBASSY 

and  the  Tchaikovsky  Governments  should  have  been  pres- 
ent, and  their  attendance  would  have  encouraged  the  peas- 
ants and  the  intelligencia  to  organize  and  overthrow  the 
Soviet  Government  and  would  have  justified  the  Peace 
Conference  in  establishing  some  kind  of  a  protectorate 
over  Russia,  as  the  Peace  Conference  called  the  Prin- 
kipo  meeting  and  at  that  time  Russia  was  considered  an 
ally  by  the  victors  in  the  world  war,  notwithstanding 
the  peace  of  Brest-Litovsk.  I  cabled  the  State  Depart- 
ment to  inquire  whether  the  President  included  Russia 
when  he  demanded  that  all  the  territory  of  the  allied 
countries  should  be  evacuated,  and  received  a  prompt 
reply  that  Russia  was  included  and  Roumania  also. 

The  situation  might  have  been  saved,  had  President 
Wilson  permitted  me  to  return  to  Petrograd,  accom- 
panied by  50,000  troops,  but  he  doubtless  felt  that  some 
antidote  to  Bolshevism  would  be  found  by  the  Peace 
Conference. 

It  would  have  inspired  the  Russians  with  some  courage 
to  organize  and  depose  the  Bolshevik-Soviet  Government, 
which  represented  at  that  time  not  over  three  per  cent 
of  the  people. 

Do  you  ask  why  the  Kolchak  and  Deniken  and  Wrangle 
movements  failed?  I  will  tell  you  why,  notwithstand- 
ing they  were  aided  by  the  British  and  by  the  French 
also.  The  Bolsheviks  were  propagandizing  all  the  while 
by  telling  the  peasants  if  Kolchak  or  Deniken  or  Wrangle 
were  successful  they  would  restore  the  big  estates  to  the 
barons,  and  that  England  and  France  would  take  Russian 
territory  for  the  assistance  which  those  governments 
were  rendering.  The  Russian  peasant  loves  the  land 
which  he  tills,  and  all  Russians  cherish  a  pardonable 
pride  in  the  magnitude, of  their  country. 

Only  America  could  have  assisted  Kolchak  or  Deniken 
or  Wrangle  without  her  motives  and  her  objects  being 
impugned. 


RETROSPECT  34S 

But  what  is  to  be  done  now?  The  wounds  of  millions 
of  Russians  cry  trumpet  tongued  to  save  their  beloved 
land  from  the  curse  of  Communism.  Are  we  allies  of  this 
afflicted  country  going  to  persist  in  ignoring  these  ap- 
peals? As  I  have  said  in  these  pages,  Russia  was  the 
chief  victim  of  the  world  war.  "We  owe  her  a  duty  which 
gratitude  should  prompt  us  to  discharge.  But  beyond 
that,  if  we  could  but  realize  it,  we  owe  it  to  ourselves,  if 
we  would  preserve  our  institutions,  to  eradicate  this  foul 
monster — Bolshevism — branch,  trunk  and  root.  We  owe 
it  to  society.  We  owe  it  to  humanity.  If  we  would  save 
society  from  barbarism  and  humanity  from  slaughter. 

America  saved  civilization  and  thus  became  the  moral 
leader  of  the  world.  Let  us  retain  this  leadership  by  sav- 
ing Russia,  because  we  are  the  only  government  on  the 
face  of  the  earth  that  can  do  it.  The  League  of  Nations 
is  in  active  operation  and  forty-eight  or  forty-nine  gov- 
ernments have  joined  it.  Let  us  join  also.  By  that 
course  we  can  save  Russia  and  put  an  end  to  Bolshevism. 


INDEX 


Alexandrieff,  speech  against  Ger- 
many by,  243  ff. 

Alexieff,  appointed  Minister  of  War, 
162  ff.;  resignation  of,  163. 

American  Commissioner  to  Eussia, 
membership  of,  128;  arrival  of, 
128;  entertainment  of,  128  ff.;  de- 
parture of,  129. 

American  Embassy,  fighting  in 
neighborhood  of,  59,  64;  guard 
.  supplied  for,  74  ff. ;  threat  of  at- 
tack on,  101  ff . ;  Junker  and  Po- 
lish guard  for,  183  ff . ;  anarchist 
threat  against,  209 ;  reception  at, 
209  ff.;  Bolshevik  guard  for,  210; 
American  guard  at,  211;  Trotz- 
ky's  address  to,  223. 

American  Expeditionary  Force  in 
Russia,  landing  of,  265  ff. ;  Fran- 
cis in  touch  with,  267;  on  strike 
duty,  267  ff.;  praise  of,  268  ff.; 
review  of,  270;  Francis  in  charge 
of,  271;  Francis's  farewell  to, 
296. 

American  Belief  Corps,  German  and 
Austrian  prisoners  aided  by,  4; 
Stunner  disliked  by,  9. 

Anarchists,  in  ranks  of  Bolsheviks, 
206;  resolution  sent  Francis  by, 
206  ff.;  threats  made  by,  208,  229; 
murders  committed  by,  208;  Bol- 
shevist relations  with,  214;  ar- 
rest of,  214  ff. 

Archangel,  Terestchenko  in,  119; 
Diplomatic  Corps  attempts  to 
reach,  251  ff . ;  Diplomatic  Corps 
at,  262  ff.;  departure  from,  263; 
counter-revolution  at,  264,  266; 
landing  of  English  at,  264 ;  Ameri- 
can troops  at,  266  ff . ;  strike  in, 
267  ff.;  ministers  kidnapped  in, 
269;  ministers  returned  to,  271 
ff.;  report  of  conditions  in,  282 
ff.;  attitude  of  British  in,  293. 

Armour,  Norman,  Vologda  conditions 
reported  by,  209  ff. 

Asquith,  Herbert,  Francis's  meeting 
with,  307. 


361 


Austria,  prisoners  of,  in  Russia,  4. 

Austrian  Embassy,  Americans  in 
charge  of,  4,  59 ;  revolutionary 
refugees  in,  60  ff. 

Avksentieff,  Chairman  of  the  Com- 
mittee of  National  Safety,  184. 

Azef,  corruption  of,  7. 

Bakhmatieff,  Provisional  Govern- 
ment 's  ambassador  at  Washington, 
104. 

Balfour,  Arthur,  note  to  Bolsheviks 
from,  326. 

Bark,  Finance  Minister,  U.  S.-Rus- 
sian  cable  and,  28  ff. 

Belgium,  German  willingness  to  in- 
demnify, 21;  German  advance  in, 
125. 

Belloselsky,  Prince,  oath  of  alle- 
giance given  by,  66. 

Berkman,  Alexander,  protest  meet- 
ing for,  165  ff.;  anarchist  resolu- 
tion for,  206;  demand  for  release 
of,  207,  210  ff.;  Francis's  report 
on,  207. 

Bernatsky,  Director  of  Department 
of  Finance,  145. 

Bernstorff,  Count,  passports  given 
to,  54. 

Bertron,  S.  R.,  on  Russian  Commis- 
sion, 128;  at  American  Embassy, 
129. 

Bierer,  Capt.,  Olympia  and  marines 
commanded  by,  265. 

Bjorke,  Treaty  of,  terms  of,  5; 
Count  Witte's  opposition  to,  5. 

Bliss,  Gen.,  Francis's  talk  on  inter- 
vention in  Russia  with,  308,  310 
ff. 

Bolshevik  Revolutionary  Committee, 
support  of,  177,  179. 

Bolsheviks,  early  German  support  of, 
26  ff . ;  Rodzianko  sought  by,  74 
ff. ;  Council  of  Ministers  arrested 
by,  105 ;  Terestchenko 's  escape 
from,  119;  July  Revolution  of, 
129  ff.;  Lenin  and  Trotzky  lead- 
ers of,  134  ff . ;  "  peaceful  'demon- 


352 


INDEX 


stratum  of,"  136  ff.,  144;  street 
fighting  of,  137;  temporary  fail- 
ure of,  138;  fear  of  outbreak  of, 
162  ff. ;  170 ;  Berkman  Protest 
Meeting  held  by,  165  ff.;  success- 
ful uprising  of,  173  ff.;  new  min- 
istry named  by,  182;  minority  of, 
201 ;  plans  for  control  by,  201  ff . ; 
Constituent  Assembly  given  ulti- 
matum by,  203;  Constituent 
Assembly  opposed  to,  203;  Con- 
stituent Assembly  disbanded  by, 
205  ff.;  power  seized  by,  206; 
Berkman 'a  freedom  demanded  by, 
207  ff.;  reason  for  power  of,  213; 
Finland  won  by,  213  ff.;  an- 
archists' relations  with,  223  ff.; 
aid  given  Germany  by,  225  ff . ; 
Diplomatic  Corps'  protest  against, 
297  ff. ;  Allied  intervention  sought 
against,  298ff.;  Robins  the 
courier  of,  302 ;  Prinkipo  Proposal 
submitted  to,  321;  Prinkipo  Pro- 
posal refused  by,  325;  British 
Commercial  treaty  with,  326,  339 ; 
army  of,  328  ff . ;  Russian  religion 
under,  329  ff . ;  American  support 
of,  334  ff . ;  Nationalization  of 
women  under,  334;  other  countries 
affected  by,  334  ff. 

See  also  Commission  of  Work- 
men's and  Soldiers'  Deputies. 

Bourse  Gazette,  account  of  July 
Revolution  in,  140. 

Brest-Litovsk,  Treaty  of,  Trotzky 
and,  210,  225  ff.;  negotiations  of, 
220  ff.,  225  ff.;  signing  of  terms 
of,  224;  disintegration  of  army 
during  negotiations  for,  223; 
Trotzky 's  refusal  to  sign,  226  ff.; 
Tchitcherin  and,  229;  ratification 
of,  231. 

Brobinsky,  Minister  of  Agriculture, 
resignation  of,  47. 

Brosoff,  I.  S.,  diamandi  affair  and, 
221. 

Brousiloff,  General,  victory  of,  23. 

Buchanan,  Sir  George,  English  Am- 
bassador, 41;  at  Czar's  reception, 
48;  authorized  to  recognize  Pro- 
visional Government,  91;  attitude 
on  Dardanelles  question,  109; 
statement  of  war  aims  asked  from, 
185;  departure  of,  216. 

Buchanan,  Lady  Georgina,  at  Mrs. 
Pankhurst'a  meeting,  148. 

Bvreauvestnik,  Anarchist  organ,  209. 


Cadet  Party,  Miliukoff's  leadership 
of,  87. 

Carlton,  Newcomb,  Russia-U.  S. 
cable  and,  29. 

Central    Empires,    peace    overtures 
of,  52. 
See  also  Germany. 

Chaplin,  Northern  Government  min- 
isters kidnapped  by,  269  ff . ;  Fran- 
cis's  rebuke  of,  270,  273  ff.;  army 
officers  under,  275. 

Chidzi,  Workmen's  Party  led  by,  84. 

Cnina,  Japan  in,  32;  Russo-Japan- 
ese treaty  on,  23;  relations  with 
Germany  severed  by,  55. 

Circus  Moderne,  radical  assemblages 
in,  136,  165  ff. 

Clemenceau,  Georges,  on  French  in- 
tervention in  Russia,  310. 

Commission  of  Workmen's  and  Sol- 
diers' Deputies,  manifestoes  is- 
sued by,  68 ;  meetings  of,  70  ff . ; 
soldiers  influenced  by,  74;  grow- 
ing power  of,  84,  92;  Miliukoff's 
opposition  to,  88;  army  demoral- 
ized by,  93;  Provisional  Govern- 
ment's fear  of,  98;  war  policy  of, 
99;  faith  in  Kerensky  of,  103; 
size  and  growth  of,  106;  hostility 
toward,  112;  disintegration  ac- 
complished by,  114;  right  to  veto 
decrees  claimed  by,  115  ff.; 
Goutchkoff 's  hatred  of,  117;  Cron- 
stadt  Council  joins  with,  126  ff. ; 
Circus  Moderne  used  by,  136; 
' '  peaceful  demonstration ' '  of, 
136;  street  fighting  of,  137  ff.; 
Kerensky  distributes  arms  to,  156 
ff.;  new  ministry  named  by,  182; 
Assembly  disbanded  by,  204  ff. 
See  also  Bolsheviks. 

Constantinople,  Russian  desire  for, 
108  ff. 

Constituent  Assembly,  promise  of, 
196  ff . ;  Soviet  endorsement  of, 
198;  Grand  Duke  Michael's  en- 
dorsement of,  198  ff . ;  elections 
held  for,  199 ;  postponed  convening 
of,  200,  202 ;  arrest  of  members  of, 
202;  parties  in,  202  ff.;  meeting 
of,  203;  Bolshevist  ultimatum  de- 
livered to,  203;  Bolsheviks  op- 
posed by,  203;  disbanding  of, 
204  ff. 

Council  of  Workmen's  Soldiers'  and 
Peasants'  Deputies.  See  Commis- 
sion of  Workmen's  and  Soldiers' 
Deputies. 


INDEX 


353 


Council  of  Ministers,  appointment 
of,  66;  authority  vested  in,  70, 
84;  Lvoff,  president  of,  71,  89; 
duty  of,  73,  89  ff . ;  imprisonment 
of  members  of,  105,  181;  changes 
in,  115  ff.;  release  of,  194. 

Court  Party,  German  sympathies  of, 
6;  reactionary  policy  of,  20,  23. 

Crane,  Charles  B.,  on  American 
commission  to  Eussia,  128. 

Cromie,  Captain,  Bolsheviks'  mur- 
der of,  326. 

Cronstadt  Council  of  Workmen's 
and  Soldiers'  Deputies,  Provision- 
al Government  repudiated  by,  126 
ff.;  street  fighting,  137. 

"Cronstadt  Eepublic,"   182. 

Crossley,  Commander,  147. 

Czar  Nicholas,  Treaty  of  Bjorke 
signed  by,  5;  Czarina's  influence 
on,  6;  Empress  Dowager  sent 
away  by,  6;  declaration  of  war 
told  to,  10  ff. ;  Francis  received 
by,  13  ff. ;  German-American  re- 
lations discussed  by,  14  ff. ;  domes- 
tic relations  of,  17  ff . ;  Sazonoff  'a 
resignation  and,  20;  Protopopoff's 
deception  of,  34;  Easputin's 
death  and,  44;  Diplomatic  Corps 
received  by,  47  ff. ;  Duma  pro- 
rogued by,  57,  61  ff. ;  abdication 
of,  67  ff .,  75  ff . ;  execution  of,  289. 

Czarina  AUx,  Witte  disliked  by,  5; 
German  sympathies  of,  6;  Stur- 
mer  made  Minister  of  Foreign  Af- 
fairs by,  10;  Francis  received  by, 
16;  Nicholas's  devotion  to,  17  ff.; 
description  of,  18;  Sazonoff 's  res- 
ignation and,  20;  Easputin's  in- 
fluence on,  42;  Easputin's  death 
and,  44;  protection  sought  by,  67; 
Nicholas 's  abdication  and,  79  ff. 

Czarovitch,  Nicholas's  devotion  to, 
17;  abdication  for,  8. 

Czecho-Slovaks,  disarming  of,  303  ff. 

Czernin,  Count,  Brest-Litovsk  Treaty 
and,  222. 

Dardanelles,  Eussian  desire  for,  108 
ff. 

Darling,  W.  L.,  on  American  Bail- 
road  Commission,  130;  departure 
of,  131. 

Dearing,  First  Secretary,  9.  12 ff.; 
16. 

de  Buisseret,  Bolgian  Ambassador, 
American  severing  of  German  rela- 
tions and,  54  ff. 


Demitry,  Prince,  Easputin's  death 
and,  43  ff . ;  arrest  of,  44  ff . ;  ban- 
ishment of,  45. 

Diamandi,  Eoumanian  Minister,  de- 
mand for  release  of,  216  ff.;  re- 
lease of,  218;  Bolshevik  statement 
on,  219;  Francis's  letter  to,  219 
ff.;  cause  of  arrest  of,  220  ff. 

Dielo  Naroda,  suspension  of  publica- 
tion of,  204. 

Dshesinskaya,  ballet-dancer,  Czar 
Nicholas  and,  17 ;  flight  of,  135  ff . 

Duma,  Stunner's  reluctance  to  meet 
with,  35;  Miliukoff's  oration  be- 
fore, 35  ff. ;  Trepoff  before,  40  ff . ; 
Purishkevich 's  speech  on  treason 
before,  41  ff.;  defiance  of  liberal 
sentiment  in,  50;  proroguing  of, 
57,  61  ff.;  assembling  of,  61,  64; 
Eodzianko  made  president  of 
Council  of  Ministers  by,  61;  ar- 
rested ministers  taken  before,  65 
ff.;  order  partially  restored  by, 
66 ;  ministry  appointed  by,  66  ff . ; 
Grand  Duke  Michael  before,  67  ff . ; 
program  of,  70;  dissolution  of, 
84. 

Duncan,  James  H.,  on  American 
Commission  to  Eussia,  128;  Tcher- 
nov  introduced  to,  129. 

Duroff,  made  Governor  General  of 
Northern  Government,  277. 

Economic  Conference  of  the  Allies, 
24;  resolution  passed  by,  25;  Pro- 
topopoff  at,  33. 

Emerson,  George,  railroad  men  in 
charge  of,  132;  in  Eussia,  132  ff. 

Empress  Dowager,  Czarina  and,  6; 
Demitry  and,  45;  Nicholas's  ab- 
dication and,  80. 

Finland,  payment  of  Eussian  Army 
in,  124;  desire  for  independence 
of,  124;  German  propaganda  in, 
124;  Bolshevik  control  in,  213  ff. 

France,  Treaty  of  Bjorke  and,  5; 
peace  terms  submitted  to,  21;  de- 
sire of  Eussian  trade  by,  24;  Ger- 
man advance  in,  125 ;  Eastern  Ger- 
man Armies  moved  against,  225; 
March,  1918,  drive  against,  225. 

Francis,  David  E.,  arrival  in  Eussia, 
3 ;  Sazonoff 's  interview  with,  8  ff . ; 
Sturmer  's  interview  with,  9  ff . ; 
Americans  entertained  by,  11; 
Nicholas 's  receptiou  of,  13  ff. ; 
Czarina's  reception  of,  16;  Bus- 


354 


INDEX 


sian-American  cable  question  and, 
28;  Diplomatic  Corps  reception 
and  47  ff . ;  dinner  to  Diplomatic 
Corps  given  by,  53;  resignation 
of  tendered,  55  ff. ;  last  diplomatic 
dinner  given  by,  58;  Revolution 
witnessed  by,  59  ff . ;  Revolution 
reported  by,  69  ff.,  90  ff.;  Rodzi- 
anko  's  reception  of,  82  ff. ;  Kod/i- 
anko  's  later  meeting  with,  85 ; 
Miliukoff  's  reception  of,  86  ff. ; 
recognition  of  Provisional  Govern- 
ment recommended  by,  90 ;  Goutch- 
koff  's  reception  of,  90  ff . ;  Provi- 
sional Government  recognized  by, 
93  ff.;  threat  of  attack  on,  101  ff.; 
Kerensky  described  by,  102  ff. ; 
Provisional  Government  aided  by, 
110,  124;  Terestchenko 's  friend- 
ship with,  119;  endeavors  to  keep 
Russia  fighting  made  by,  124  ff . ; 
American  Commission  welcomed 
by,  128  ff. ;  Railroad  Commission 
desired  by,  130;  Russian  transpor- 
tation in  charge  of,  130  ff. ;  Ker- 
ensky's  meeting  with,  141;  Miliu- 
koff 's  interview  with,  149  ff. ;  Ker- 
ensky-Korniloff  break  described  by, 
157  ff. ;  John  Reed 's  Bolshevism  re- 
ported by,  167  ff. ;  Russian  people 
addressed  by,  173  ff.;  conditions 
after  Bolshevist  uprising  reported 
by,  182  ff . ;  Anarchist  resolution 
addressed  to,  206  ff. ;  ' '  The  Black 
Point"  addressed  to,  208;  threats 
against,  208  ff.,  229;  reception 
given  by,  209 ;  Bolshevik  guard 
for,  210;  release  of  Diamandi  ac- 
complished by,  216ff.;  Lenin's 
reception  of,  217;  Pravda's  state- 
ment regarding,  219;  letter  to 
Diamandi  from,  219  ff.;  Trotzky's 
request  for  armistice  reported  by, 
224;  publication  of  message  of, 
231  ff. ;  German  demand  for  dis- 
missal of,  232  ff.,  242;  German 
threats  against,  233;  depar- 
ture from  Petrograd  of,  234 
ff.;  Bolshevik  reception  of  at 
Vologda,  236  ff.;  Summers 's 
death  and,  238  ff. ;  reception  given 
by,  239;  4th  of  July  address  by, 
240  ff. ;  Tchitcherin  's  telegrams 
to,  245  ff.,  248  ff.,  253,  255  ff.,  260; 
replies  to  Tchitcherin  of,  246,  248 
ff.,  253,  255  ff.;  Radek's  inter- 
view with,  247  ff . ;  urged  to  go  to 
Archangel,  251;  removal  to  Arch- 


angel planned  by,  253  ff. ;  at  Arch- 
angel, 262  ff. ;  departure  from 
Archangel,  263;  at  Kandalaksha, 
263  ff.;  at  Murmansk,  264  ff.;  re- 
turn to  Archangel,  266;  Archan- 
gel's attitude  toward  American 
soldiers  and,  267  ff . ;  American 
troops  reviewed  by,  270;  kidnap- 
ping affair  and,  270  ff.;  French 
and  British  attitude  opposed  by, 
276;  Tchaikovsky  and,  276  ff.; 
Archangel  conditions  reported  by, 
282;  Russian  conditions  reported 
by,  283,  285  ff.,  294 ;  assassination 
of  Nicholas  reported  by,  289;  ill- 
ness of,  290  ff.;  on  Olympia,  291; 
Terestchenko 's  visits  to,  291; 
British  friction  reported  by,  293 
ff.;  General  Ironsides  praised  by, 
294  ff. ;  Bolshevik  financial  policy 
protested  by,  297ff.;  Allied  inter- 
vention sought  by,  298  ff.,  304  ff . ; 
trip  to  Petrograd  of,  302  ff.,  306; 
attempt  to  see  Wilson  of,  306  ff.; 
interview  with  George  V.  on  Rus- 
sia, 307;  Admiral  Grayson's  in- 
terview with,  308  ff . ;  operation  on, 
308;  ordered  to  Paris  by  Lansing, 
309;  departure  from  Paris  with 
Wilson,  309  ff.;  Wilson's  inter- 
view with,  310;  Wilson's  refusal 
to  intervene  reported  by,  310  ff . ; 
Tchitcherin 's  cable  answered  by, 
312  ff.;  Prinkipo  Proposal  de- 
fended by,  323  ff . ;  Bolshevism  de- 
scribed by,  328  ff . ;  eradication  of 
Bolshevism  desired  by,  335  ff.,  342 
ff.;  Lenin  described  by,  335,  338; 
Trotzky  described  by,  335 ;  opinion 
Bolshevik  treaty  of,  339  ff.;  res- 
ignation of,  345. 

Galicia,  Russian  victory  in,  23. 

Gapoa,  Father,  corruption  of,  7. 

German  Embassy,  Russian  destruc- 
tion of,  4. 

Germany,  American  charge  of  in- 
terests of,  4;  influence  of,  4 
ff.,  26  ff . ;  Russian  commercial 
treaty  with,  6,  12;  Russian  ha- 
tred of,  11  ff. ;  peace  terms 
submitted  by,  20  ff.;  Bolsheviks 
supported  by,  26  ff . ;  Japanese  re- 
lations with,  32;  severing  of 
American  relations  with,  54; 
American  entrance  in  war  against, 
95;  Finnish  popaganda  of,  124; 
Bolshevism  an  aid  to,  185,  225  ff.; 


INDEX 


355 


Bolshevism  in,  214 ;  arrest  of  Rou- 
manians ordered  by,  221;  Bolshe- 
vik armistice  with,  223;  removal 
of  armies  to  Western  Front  by, 
225;  Brest-Litovsk  peace  of,  224 
ff.;  diplomats  in  Bussia  threat- 
ened by,  233;  removal  of  Francia 
demanded  by,  232  ff.,  242 ;  Ukrai- 
nian opposition  to,  243  ff. ;  Moscow 
demonstration  against,  243  ff . ; 
Bolshevik  agreement  with,  304 
ff. ;  present  economic  war  of, 
332  ff. 

Gibbs,  George,  on  American  railroad 
commission,  130;  report  of  from 
Vladivostok,  131. 

Glennon,  Admiral,  on  American  Com- 
mission to  Eussia,  128;  Black  Sea 
fleet  reviewed  by,  129;  Kerensky 
introduced  to,  129. 

Glasberg,  Assistant  Minister  of  Fi- 
nance, 143. , 

Goldman,  Emma,  release  demanded, 
210  ff. 

Golitzin,  Prince,  Trepoff  succeeded 
by,  47. 

Gompers,  war  message  to  Eussia  of, 
97  ff. ;  message  to  Soviet  Congress 
of,  230. 

Gorky,  Maxim,  suppression  of  paper 
of,  177. 

Goukovsky,  Minister  of  Justice, 
Sovereign  Government  of  North- 
ern Eussia,  appointment  of,  280; 
resignation  of,  281  ff. 

Goutchkoff,  Provisional  Minister  of 
War — Francis's  interview  with,  91 
ff . ;  description  of,  92  ff . ;  Nicho- 
las'a  abdication  demanded  by,  79, 
93;  demoralization  of  army  op- 
posed by,  93;  Bolsheviks  feared 
by,  92,  95;  resignation  of,  103, 
115  ff. ;  American  attitude  and, 
110;  Bolshevik  hostility  toward, 
117. 

Great  Britain,  influence  of  in  Eus- 
sia, 12;  peace  terms  submitted  to, 
21 ;  desire  of  Bussian  trade  by,  24 ; 
commercial  domination  of,  28;  at- 
titude toward  U.  S.,  54;  in 
Northern  Eussia,  276  ff.;  Bol- 
shevik commercial  treaty  with, 
326,  338. 
Greece,  Queen  Dowager  of — petition 

for  Demitry  presented  by,  46. 
Grenier,     John     E.,     on     American 
Railroad     Commission,     130;     de- 
parture of,  131. 


Grigorovitch,  Minister  of  Admiralty, 
arrest  avoided  by,  65. 

Harding,  Warren  G.,  Francis's  resig- 
nation accepted  by,  345  ff. 

Hiudenburg,  General  von,  advance  of 
line  of,  125. 

Hitchcock,  Senator,  Chairman  For- 
eign Relations  Committee — Ameri- 
can troops  in  Eussia  and,  312. 

Hoffman,  General  William,  arrest  of 
Roumanians  ordered  by,  221; 
Lenin  called  German  agent  by, 
222;  Brest-Litovsk  peace  nego- 
tiated by,  226. 

Holbrook,  Frederick,  Bolshevik  fight- 
ing and,  137. 

House,  Col.  Edward,  Francis's  talk 
on  intervention  with,  308;  Fran- 
cis's interview  with  Wilson  re- 
ported to,  310  ff. 

Hughes,  Charles  E.,  Francis's  resig- 
nation accepted  by,  345. 

Hurd,  Dr.,  battle  front  experience  of, 
26. 

Ignatieff,  Minister  of  Education, 
resignation  of,  47. 

Ironsides,  General,  Poole  succeeded 
by,  294;  description  of,  294  ff. 

Isvestia,  Soviet  Organ,  198. 

Ivanoff,  General,  Nicholas's  abdica- 
tion and,  77. 

Japan — Russo-Japanese  War,  5 ; 
peace  terms  submitted  to,  21;  Eus- 
sian commercial  treaty  with,  31  ff.; 
double  dealing  of,  32;  in  China, 
32;  in  the  war,  100. 

Joffe,  A.,  arrest  of  Diamandi  ex- 
plained by,  220  ff. 

Johnston,  Earl,  revolution  sightsee- 
ing of,  62  ff . ;  67 ;  Eodzianko  and, 
85;  threat  against  Embassy  re- 
vealed to,  209. 

Jordan,  Philip,  Francis's  valet,  3, 
6,  8,  101. 

July  Eevolution,  129,  13  Iff.;  street 
fighting  in,  137  ff.;  failure  of, 
138  ff. 

Junkers,  Bolsheviks  opposed  by,  181, 
183  ff.,  187,  Bolshevist  outrages 
on,  184,  187,  191. 

Kaledin,  Rodzianko  with,  85. 
Kandalaksha,  Diplomatic   Corps  at, 

263  ff.  I 

Kedroff,  261. 
Kerensky,    Alexander,    Minister    of 

Justice    of     Provisional    Govern- 


356 


INDEX 


ment,  restraint  exerted  by,  80,  88 
ff.;  102  ff.;  Muliukoff's  opposi- 
tion to,  88  ff.,  109;  Republic  de- 
sired by,  99;  description  of,  102 
ff.;  Francis's  acquaintance  with, 
103 ;  as  minister  of  war,  103  ff ., 
116  ff.;  death  penalty  and,  103  ff.; 
Lenin  described  by  104 ff.;  es- 
cape of,  105,  180,  194 ff.;  war 
aims  of,  109,  Terestchenko 's  rela- 
tions with,  119;  Provisional  Gov- 
ernment's needs  outlined  by,  123 
ff. ;  war-front  experiences  of  125 
ff.;  American  Commission  intro- 
duced to,  129;  made  President  of 
Ministry,  143  ff. ;  at  meeting  with 
Francis,  147;  Mrs.  Pankhurst  re- 
ceived by,  148;  threat  to  resign 
made  by,  148  ff. ;  resignation  of, 
149;  return  of,  150;  new  Ministry 
formed  by,  150;  at  Moscow  con- 
gresses, 153;  Korniloff 's  break 
with,  155  ff . ;  Korniloff  's  failure 
an  aid  to,  162  ff . ;  last  appeal  of, 
171  ff. ;  flight  of,  179 ;  return  and 
repulse  of,  180;  causes  of  failure 
of,  193  ff . ;  luxurious  living  of, 
201;  separate  peace  opposed  by, 
292. 

Kerth,  Lieut.  Col.,  protest  against 
Eussian  armistice  by,  224. 

Kieff,  Empress  Dowager  in,  6,  45; 
Eevolution  in,  69. 

Kokoshkin,  murder  of,  208. 

Kolchak,  Terestchenko 's  desire  to 
join,  119. 

Kollontai,  Mile.,  Bolsheviks'  Min- 
ister of  Education,  186. 

Korff,  Baron,  Francis's  call  on, 
12  ff. 

Korniloff,  General,  103,  made  Min- 
ister of  war,  143;  discipline  re- 
stored by,  143;  experiences  of, 
145  ff. ;  at  Moscow  Congresses,  153 
ff. ;  Kerensky  's  break  with,  155  ff. ; 
attack  on  Petrograd  by,  156  ff.; 
failure  of,  160  ff. 

Kovanko,  Captain,  return  of,  180, 
report  of,  180  ff . ;  arrest  of, 
181. 

Krasnoff,  Cossacks  commanded  by, 
181. 

Krassin,  British  treaty  with,  326. 

Lansing  Sec.  Robert,  Francis's  in- 
terview with,  308  ff. ;  Francis 's  in- 
tervfew  with  Wilson  reported  to, 
310  ff. 


Lebedev,  Executive  Head  of  the 
Navy,  143. 

Lenin,  Vladimir  I.,  Kerensky 's  ac- 
count of,  104  ff.;  Francis's  ac- 
count of,  106,  112  ff.;  335  ff.; 
338  ff.;  disintegration  of  army 
accomplished  by,  114  ff.;  Trotzky 
compared  with,  134;  "direct  ac- 
tion" policy  of,  134;  arrival  in 
Russia  of,  135;  German  money 
used  by,  135 ;  power  of,  135 ; 
' '  peaceful  demonstration ' '  de- 
sired by,  136;  flight  of,  138, 
143  ff . ;  Provisional  Government 's 
leniency  toward,  141  ff . ;  made 
President  of  the  Soviet  Commis- 
saire,  182,  186  ff. ;  government  ad- 
ministered by,  183 ;  pro-German 
suspicion  of,  185;  defiance  of  elec- 
tion results  by,  202;  Constituent 
Assembly  disbanded  by,  204  ff . ; 
release  of  Diamandi  demanded 
from,  216;  Diplomatic  Corps  re- 
ceived by,  217;  Francis's  inter- 
view with,  217;  as  pro-German 
agent,  221  ff.;  Trotzky  repri- 
manded by,  228;  reign  of  terror 
permitted  by,  227ff.;  British 
treaty  with,  326;  1. 

Lindley,  F.  O.,  Commissioner  at 
Archangel,  251,  263;  British 
ChargS,  287. 

Lloyd  George,  Premier,  Francis's 
meeting  with,  307;  on  interven- 
tion, 310. 

Long,  Assistant  Secretary,  Fran- 
cis supported  by,  271. 

Looga  Workmen's  and  Soldiers' 
Council :  Constituent  Assembly 
supported  by,  204. 

Lorraine,  German  offer  to  cede,  21. 

Ludendorff,  Gen.,  advance  of  line 
of,  125. 

Lukomsky,  surrender  of,  162. 

Lvoff,  Prince,  President  of  Council 
of  Ministers,  71,  89,  American 
recognition  conveyed  to  93  ff . ; 
Provisional  Government  needs  out- 
lined by,  123  ff.;  on  the  July 
Revolution,  139  ff. ;  resignation  of, 
141. 

Lvoff,  V.  N.,  Kerensky-Korniloff 
break  precipitated  by,  156;  arrest 
of,  156. 

Mf-Culley,  Capt,  Naval  Attache1, 
Revolution  reported  by,  61;  Fran- 
cis and,  337. 


INDEX 


McGrath,  condition  at  Archangel  re- 
ported by,  251  S. 

March,  Gen.,  Francis  opposed  by,  in 
connection  with  request  that  com- 
mander of  troops  in  Russia  consult 
with  him,  271. 

Marinef,  Government  defied  by,  173. 

Martin,  Hugh  S.,  landing  of  Ma- 
rines suggested  to,  265;  English 
commercial  treaties  reported  by, 
294. 

Michael,  Grand  Duke,  abdication  in 
favor  of,  67  ff . ;  authority  accepted 
by,  68,  abdication  of,  70;  Con- 
stituent Assembly  endorsed  by. 
198  ff. 

Miles,  Basil,  revolutionary  refugees 
and,  60  ff . ;  head  of  Russian  Bu- 
reau in  American  State  Depart- 
ment, 271. 

Military  Revolutionary  Committee, 
formation  of,  173. 

Miliukoff,  Paul,  oration  of,  35  ff.; 
Francis  received  by,  84 ff.;  de- 
scription of,  87  ff. ;  Minister  of 
Foreign  Affairs,  86  ff . ;  socialism 
opposed  by,  88;  Kerensky  op- 
posed by,  88  ff . ;  American  recog- 
nition of  Provisional  Government 
and,  93  ff. ;  American  entry  in 
war  and,  96  ff.;  106  ff.;  consti- 
tutional monarchy  favored  by, 
99;  war  aims  of,  106  ff.;  173;  hos- 
tility toward,  110  ff . ;  ovation  for, 
111;  resignation  of,  116 ff.;  Amer- 
ican Commission  introduced  to, 
129;  Speech  on  America  by,  147; 
Kerensky  and,  149  ff. ;  at  Mos- 
cow Congresses,  155. 

Miller,  Henry,  on  American  Rail- 
road Commission,  130. 

Mirbach,  Count,  anarchy  opposed  by, 
215;  demonstration  against,  244 
ff. ;  assassination  of,  245. 

Mooney,     demand    for    release    of, 

210  ff. ;    investigation  of  case  of, 

211  ff. 

Moscow,  Revolution  in,  69;  Tertia- 
koff  Gallery  in,  92;  American 
Commission's  visit  to,  129;  Rail- 
road Commission  in,  131;  out- 
oreak  of  Bolshevism  in,  131;  Ail- 
Russian  Cossack  Congress  at,  153; 
All-Russian  Congress  of  Soldiers 
and  Workmen  at,  153;  conditions 
in,  190  ff.;  Brest-Litovsk  Peace 
approved  at,  224;  threatened  Ger- 
man advance  against,  227;  Bol- 


shevik Government's  removal  to, 
234;  report  of  conditions  in  243 
ff . ;  anti-German  demonstration 
in,  243  ff. 

Moscow  Commissariat  of  Military 
Affaiars,  anarchists  in,  214  ff. 

Motono,  Japanese  Ambassador, 
Russo-Japanese  treaty  negotiated 
by,  31. 

Mott,  John  R.,  American  Commis- 
sion to  Russia,  128  ff. 

Mouravleff,  Col.,  in  command  oi 
Petrograd  district,  183. 

Murmansk,  Gen.  Poole  at,  264  j 
American  marines  at,  265  ff. 

Narychkine,  Elizabeth,  Francis's 
call  on,  12. 

National  Congress  of  the  Councils  of 
Deputies  of  the  Workmen's  and 
Soldiers'  organization  of,  201. 

National  Democratic  Congress,  meet- 
ing of,  164. 

Nekrassoff,  lunch  with,  104,  Min- 
ister of  War,  143,  149. 

Nicholas,  Grand  Duke,  Sukhomlinoff 
accused  by,  6;  reported  Com- 
mander in  Chief  of  Armies,  61  ff. 

Nichols,  Major,  American  Force  in 
Russia  commanded  by,  267. 

Niloff,  Admiral,  abdication  of  Nich- 
olas and,  75  ff. 

Nolde,  Baron,  Francis's  luncheon 
with,  86. 

Noove  Vremya,  printing  presses 
seized  by  Bolsheviks,  140;  sus- 
pension of,  204. 

Nostitz,  Count,  taken  before  Duma, 
66. 

Pankhurst,  Mrs.,  Russian  mission  of, 
147  ff . ;  Kerensky 's  interview  with, 
148,  150. 

Pershing,  General,  Francis's  inter- 
view with,  308. 

Pptrograd,  Francis's  arrival  in,  3; 
Empress  Dowager 's  departure 
from,  6;  Americans  in,  11;  Rus- 
sian army  in  21  ff. ;  pro-German 
newspaper  in,  42;  March  revolu- 
tion in,  59  ff . ;  Provisional  Gov- 
ernment supported  by,  111  ff . ; 
power  of  Bolsheviks  in,  115; 
American  Commission  in,  128  ff . ; 
American  Railroad  Commission 
in,  131;  July  Revolution  in,  137; 
conditions  in,  145,  165,  186  ff., 
302;  threatened  German  advance 


358 


INDEX 


on,   227,   234;    diplomat's   depar- 
ture from,  234  ff. 

Phelps,    Livingston,    Lenin's    inter- 
view with,  217. 
Pistelcorse,  Count,  Rasputin's  body 

removed  by,  44. 

Plekahnov,  Lenin  taught  by,  134. 
Pokrovsky,   N.,   Comptroller   of   the 
Empire,    27;    Wilson   peace   over- 
tures delivered  to,  52;  escape  of, 
65. 

Poole,  DeWitt  C.,  American  troops 
in  Russia  justified  by,  318  ff.;  ap- 
pointment of,  320  ff . ;  in  Moscow, 
321;  Francis  succeeded  by  at 
Archangel,  321;  Prinkipo  Pro- 
posal protested  by,  322  ff. 
Poole,  Gen.,  conditions  at  Arch- 
angel reported  by,  251;  plans  of, 
251;  at  Murmansk,  264;  at 
Archangel,  264;  Chaplin  on  staff 
of,  269;  kidnapping  affair  and, 
271  ff. ;  American  opposition  to, 
276;  Russian  disagreement  with, 
278,  286;  Tchaikovsky's  agree- 
ment with,  281;  cautioned,  293; 
withdrawal  of,  293. 
Pravda,  Bolshevik  organ,  219. 
Prebensen,  Norwegian  Minister,  55. 
Prinkipo  Proposal,  Wilson's  submit- 
ting of,  321;  Poole 's  protests 
against,  322  ff.;  Francis's  defense 
of,  323  ff.;  abandonment  of, 
325. 

Protopopoff,  made  Minister  of  In- 
terior, 33;  career  of,  33;  German 
peace  supported  by,  33  ff . ;  reac- 
tionary policy  of,  34;  Czar  de- 
ceived by,  34;  insanity  of,  34  ff.; 
Purishkevich  's  attack  on,  41  ff . ; 
hostility  toward,  46  ff.,  62;  sur- 
render and  imprisonment  of,  65  ff . ; 
MUiukoff's  attack  on,  88. 
Provisional  Government — organiza- 
tion of,  64,  66;  order  preserved 
by,  69;  authority  of,  70;  American 
relations  with,  82,  90  ff.;  policy 
of,  88  ff.,  102  ff.;  British,  French, 
Italian  recognition  of,  94  ff . ;  dan- 
ger to,  95,  98 ;  treatment  of  Lenin 
by,  105;  hostility  toward,  110 ff.; 
American  support  of,  110 ff.;  fall 
of,  119,  173  ff.;  foreign  policy  of, 
120;  difficulties  of,  123;  Cron- 
stadt  repudiation  of,  127;  July 
Revolution  put  down  by,  137  ff.; 
Kerensky's  last  appeal  for,  171 
ff.;  soldiers'  betrayal  of,  177; 


surrender  of,  181;  Constituent 
Assembly  promised  by,  196  ff ., 
199;  Assembly  called  by,  199  ff.; 
last  appeals  of,  200. 
Purishkevich,  Gen.  pro-German  deal- 
ing revealed  by,  41  ff.;  Proto- 
popoff attacked  by,  41  j  Rasputin 's 
death  and,  44. 

Rabovski,  on  Diamondi's  release, 
220. 

Radek,  Karl,  statement  of  Bol- 
shevik purposes  by,  227;  sent  to 
Vologda,  246  ff.;  career  of,  248; 
hostility  toward,  250. 

Railroad  Commission  (American), 
115  ff. ;  appointment  of,  130 ; 
membership  of,  130;  in  Vladi- 
vostok, 130  ff.;  in  Petrograd,  131; 
in  Nagasaki,  132. 

Ramsai,  Baron,  oath  of  allegiance  to 
Provisional  Government,  66;  in 
Bolshevik  uprising,  179. 

Ransome,  Arthur,  Radek 'a  inter- 
preter, 247. 

Rasputin,  Sturmer  promoted  through 
influence  of,  10;  Protopopoff 
supported  by,  34;  murder  of, 
42  ff. 

Red  Army,  newspapers  destroyed  by, 
204;  Trotzky's  organization  of, 
228;  success  of,  228;  composition 
of,  228. 

Reed,  John,  Berkman  information 
given  by,  166;  introduced  by  Ma- 
lone,  167;  papers  found  on,  167 
ff.;  policy  of,  169. 

Riggs,  Lieut.  Francis,  on  Russian 
affairs,  116;  sent  to  meet  Rail- 
road Commission,  130;  on  trip  to 
Archangel,  261. 

Robins,  Raymond,  with  American 
Red  Cross,  211;  intimacy  with 
Lenin  and  Trotzky,  214  ff. ;  as 
Soviet  Courier  to  U.  S.,  302. 

Rodzianko,  Michael,  President  of 
Duma.  Protopopoff  hated  by,  47; 
promotion  of,  61;  order  restored 
by,  66 ;  Francis  received  by,  82  ff. ; 
description  of,  83;  Duma  ad- 
journed by,  84;  Bolshevik  pursuit 
of,  85;  escape  of,  86;  Constitu- 
tional Monarchy  favored  by,  99; 
American  Commission  introduced 
to,  129. 

Roosevelt,  Franklin  D.,  marines 
placed  in  Francis's  command  by, 
265. 


INDEX 


359 


Root,  Elihu,  in  Russia,  124;  Chair- 
man of  American  Commission  to 
Russia,  128;  speech  of,  129. 

Rosen,  Baron,  Russo-American  So- 
ciety President,  86;  on  Kerensky, 
103. 

Rothschild,  President  of  the  "Cron- 
stadt  Republic,"  182. 

P.oumauia,  Russian  readiness  to 
abandon,  39,  41;  German  mach- 
inations against,  221. 

Russell,  Charles  E.,  American  Com- 
mission to  Russia,  128  ff. 

Russia,  Francis's  arrival  in,  3; 
Austrian  and  German  prisoners  in, 
4 ;  German  influences  in,  5  ff., 
26  ff . ;  German  commercial  treaty 
with,  6,  12;  American  desire  for 
treaty  with,  8  ff .,  14 ;  Germany 
hated  by,  11  ff. ;  England 's  influ- 
ence in,  12;  German  peace  terms 
submitted  to,  20  ff . ;  army  of,  21 
ff. ;  trade  opportunities  in,  24; 
wealth  of,  27  ff.;  U.  S.  cable  to, 
28  ff . ;  Japanese  commercial  treaty 
with,  31  ff.;  readiness  for  separate 
peace  in,  39  ff . ;  Dardanelles 
promised  to,  41 ;  unrest  in,  56  ff. ; 
March  Revolution  in,  59  ff. ;  Pro- 
visional Government  in,  64  ff . ; 
demoralization  of  army  of,  93, 
328  ff . ;  conditions  in,  113  ff.,  145, 
162  ff.,  282  ff.,  329  ff.  July  Revo- 
lution in,  129  ff . :  American  aid  of, 
174  ff. ;  demobilization  of  army 
of,  225;  German  understand- 
ing of,  331;  result  of  war  in, 
341. 

Russian  Commission  in  America, 
treason  in,  7. 

Russian  Secret  Service,  corruption 
of,  7. 

Russo-American  Society,  86. 

Russo-Japanese  Treaty,  publication 
of,  31  ff. ;  terms  of,  32  ff. 

Russo-Japanese  War,  5. 
Eusskoe-Slovo,  Francis  in,  208. 

Savinkoff,  Executive  Head  of  War 
Department,  143. 

Sazonoff,  Minister  of  Foreign  Af- 
fairs, Francis's  audience  with, 
8ff.;  description  of,  10;  American 
commercial  treaty  and,  8  ff. ;  25, 
31;  resignation  of,  19  ff.;  admira- 
tion of,  23. 

Schidloffsky,  Duma  Committee  of 
Twelve,  70. 


Scott,  Gen.  Hugh,  on  American  Com- 
mission to  Russia,  128ff. 

Shulgin,  Emperor's  abdication  de- 
manded by,  79,  93. 

Shingarieff,  murder  of,  208. 

Shotoff,  William,  Berkman  meeting 
and,  166  ff. 

Skoboleff,  Bolshevik  Government  op- 
posed by,  184  ff. 

Smith,  Mrs.  McAllister,  at  Mrs. 
Pankhurst's  meeting,  148. 

South  African  Colonies,  German 
willingness  to  cede,  21. 

Sovereign  Government  of  the  North- 
ern region,  266;  kidnapping  of 
ministers  of,  269;  release  of  min- 
isters of,  271  ff. ;  abdication  of 
ministers  of,  278;  attempted  re- 
organization of,  279  ff. 

Soviet  Congress,  Brest-Litovsk  peace 
approved  by,  224;  American  mes- 
sages to,  229  ff. 

See  also  Bolsheviks,  and  Com- 
mission of  Workmen's  and  Sol- 
diers' Deputies. 

Stackelberg,  Lieut.  Gen.,  killing  of, 
64  ff. 

Stecklov,  Member  of  the  Executive 
Committee  of  the  Petrograd  So- 
viet, Constituent  Assembly  and, 
198. 

Stevens,  John  F.,  Chairman  of 
American  Railroad  Commission, 
appointment  of,  130,  illness  of, 
131;  at  Moscow,  131,  departure 
of,  131. 

Stewart,  Col.,  marines  in  command 
of,  267  ff. 

Stone,  Senator,  Francis's  disagree- 
ment with,  56. 

Stunner,  President  of  Council  of 
Ministers,  8 ;  Francis  and  8  ff . ; 
Made  Foreign  Minister,  19,  22; 
character  of,  23;  Miliukoff  on, 
36 ff.;  dismissal  of,  40;  death  of 
40;  imprisonment  of,  65. 

Sukhomlinoff,  Minister  of  War, 
charged  with  treason,  6;  imprison- 
ment of,  6,  66. 

Summers,  Madden,  Consul  at  Mas- 
cow,  conditions  reported  by,  113 
ff.,  153  ff.,  190  ff.,  214  ff.;  death 
of,  238,  funeral  of,  238  ff. 

Tchaikovsky,  Bolshevik  government 
opposed  by,  184  ff.;  government 
of  Northern  Region  headed  by, 
266;  description  of,  266;  kidnap- 


360 


INDEX 


ping  and  release  of,  270  ff. ;  fail- 
ure of,  275  ff. ;  Poole  criticized  by, 
278  ff.;  attempted  reorganization 
by,  279  ff. 

Tchernov,  Minister  of  Labor,  Amer- 
ican Commission  introduced  to, 
129;  inability  of,  to  cope  with 
Bolsheviks,  149. 

Tchetcherin,  Zalkend  succeeded  by, 
211;  imprisonment  and  release  of, 
211;  representative  of  Russia  at 
Brest-Litovsk,  229,  264  ff.;  Fran- 
cis 's  telegraphic  communication 
with,  245  ff. ;  departure  of  Allied 
warships  demanded  by,  304;  cable 
from,  on  presence  of  American 
troops,  312  ff.;  internment  of,  325 
ff.;  British  treaty  with,  326;  de- 
nunciation of  Allies  by,  327. 

Terestchenko,  Minister  of  Foreign 
Affairs,  appointment  of,  116,  118; 
description  of,  118  ff.;  Kerensky's 
relations  with,  119;  escape  of, 
119;  policy  of,  120  ff.;  American 
Commission  welcomed  by,  129;  on 
Korniloff,  145,  161;  inability  of, 
to  cope  with  Bolsheviks,  149,  178 
ff.;  imprisonment  of,  182;  at 
Archangel,  291;  release  of,  291; 
separate  peace  opposed  by,  292. 

Tcrestchenko,  Madame,  182. 

Torneo,  Diamandi  saved  at,  218. 

Trepoff,  Sturmer  supplanted  by,  40; 
character  of,  40;  resignation  of, 
46. 

Trotzky,  Leon,  a  Jew,  104;  impris- 
onment of,  105;  arrival  in  Russia 
of,  113,  135;  disintegration  ac- 
complished by,  114;  Lenin  com- 
pared with,  134;  "direct  action" 
policy  of,  134;  "peaceful  demon- 
stration" planned  by,  136;  arrest 
and  release  of,  138,  143  ff.;  Soviet 
Minister  of  War,  182,  186  ff.;  gov- 
ernment administered  by,  183; 
pro-German  suspicions  of,  185; 
Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs,  201; 
resolution  against  Francis  sent  to, 
21  Off.;  attack  on  Embassy  pre- 
vented by,  211;  arrest  of  Diamandi 
ordered  by,  221;  German  agent, 
221 ;  armistice  announced  by,  223 
If. ;  negotiation  of,  226  ff. ;  notice 
of  peace  given  Germans  by,  228; 
Minister  of  War,  228;  Red  Army 
organized  by,  228;  Allies  allowed 
at  Murmansk  by,  264  ff. ;  British 
hatred  of,  326;  British  treaty 


with,   326;    Francis's  opinion   of, 

335  ff. 
Tsabel,    General,   at    abdication    of 

Nicholas,   75  ff. 

Tschedzi,  N.  S.,  Gompers's  war  mes- 
sage to,  97  ff. 
Tseretelli,  in  July  Revolution,  140 ; 

resignation   of,    144;    Minister   of 

Interior,  149. 
Turkey,    Russia's   attitude    towards, 

108  ff. 

Uchida,  Baron,  Japanese  Ambas- 
sador, friendliness  of,  57;  dinner 
for,  58;  arrest  of  ordered,  284; 
Siberians  refuse  to  arrest,  285. 

Ukraine,  struggle  against  Germany 
in,  243  ff. 

Union  of  Zsmstvos,  meetings  of,  pro 
hibited,  89. 

United  States — hope  of  Russian  com- 
mercial treaty  with,  8  ff.,  14 ;  op- 
portunities in  Russia  for,  24  ff . ; 
28  ff.;  Russian  cable  question  and. 
28  ff.;  German  relations  severed 
by,  54  ff.;  Provisional  Govern- 
ment's relations  with,  82,  90  ff., 
96;  entrance  in  war  of,  96,  100, 
106  ff . ;  Provisional  Government 
aided  by,  110  ff.,  124,  173  ff.;  in 
France  and  Belgium,  124  ff. ;  inter- 
vention in  Russia  sought  from,  290 
ff.;  troops  in  Russia,  312  ff. ;  atti- 
tude toward  Bolshevism  in,  334  ff. 

Uritzky,  shooting  of,  204. 

Usoupoff,  Prince,  Rasputin  killed  in 
house  of,  43  ff. ;  banishment  of, 
44. 


Venigel,  Wolff,  German  spies  in 
charge  of,  221. 

Verkhovsky,  Minister  of  War,  de- 
scription of,  163  ff. ;  Bolshevist 
armies  directed  by,  187. 

Vladivostok,  American  Railroad 
Commission  at,  115,  130;  Ameri- 
can Commission  at,  125;  difficulty 
of  communication  with,  212. 

Voeikoff,  General,  at  Nicholas's  ab- 
dication, 75,  77 ff. 

Volodarsky,  Provisional  Government 
defied  by,  173. 

Vologda,  Francis's  removal  to, 
234  ff . ;  Allied  Embassies  at,  235 ; 
Francis's  reception  at,  236  ff.; 
life  at,  237  ff. ;  departure  from, 
247  ff.;  conditions  at,  289  ff. 


INDEX 


361 


Von  Kuehlmann,  Brest-L  i  t  o  v  s  k 
Treaty  and,  222 ;  Francis 's  dismis- 
sal demanded  by,  232  ff . 

Von  Lucius,  peace  terms  submitted 
by,  21;  Sazoueff's  relations  with, 
22. 

Vosnesenski,  Bolshevik  Govern- 
ment's representative  at  Vologda, 
239 ;  mission  of,  239  ff . ;  disarma- 
ment and,  303  ff. 

White,  Henry  T.,  Francis's  talk  on 
intervention  with,  308. 

White,  William  Allen,  appointed  to 
Prinkipo  Conference,  325. 

Wilhelm,  Kaiser,  Czar  influenced  by, 
5. 

Wilson,  Woodrow,  peace  overtures 
of,  52;  fourteen  points  an- 
nounced by,  52  ff.;  war  declared 


by,  96,  100,  106 ff.;  Bussian  Com- 
mission appointed  by,  128; 
Mooney  case  reported  by,  211  ff. ; 
message  to  Bolshevists  from,  229 
ff.;  Francis  supported  by,  271, 
288;  Eobins's  mission  to,  302; 
Francis 's  interview  on  intervention 
with,  306  ff . ;  Prinkipo  Proposal 
submitted  by,  321. 
Witte,  Count,  Treaty  of  Bjorke  op- 
posed by,  5. 

Young,  Dr.  Hugh  H.,  Francis  op- 
erated on  by,  308. 

Zalkend,  anarchist  resolution  sent 
Francis  by,  211;  Lenin's  removal 
of,  211 ;  report  of  Francis 's  prom- 
ise to,  219. 

Zinoviev,  on  President  Wilson,  230. 


/ 


rom  which  It  was  borrowed 


